Iran boosts cyber war capabilities

Iran has invested $1 billion to boost its offensive and defensive cyber warfare capabilities, The Jerusalem Post said. The Islamic Republic has been plagued with a number of cyber attacks in recent years, including the Stuxnet virus, which is believed to have destroyed 1,000 centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment facility, the daily said Sunday. A new virus called Duqu was recently detected in Iran's computer systems, but the extent of damage is unknown, the newspaper said. Iran's deputy Energy Minister Mohammed Behzad Saturday said electricity production is set to double at the Bushehr nuclear plant, Press TV said. Behzad told the Mehr news agency that the plant is expected to reach the capacity of 1000 megawatts by the end of March 2012. Meanwhile, CNN reported Russian authorities Friday seized radioactive material from the luggage of an Iranian citizen on a flight from Moscow to Tehran. CNN said authorities found 18 metal objects packed in individual steel cases that contained radioactive isotope sodium-22 that can be obtained in a nuclear reactor. Tests on the material revealed radiation levels 20 times above normal.