Malware hits personal computers of staff at Iranian nuclear plant

TEHRAN, Iran – TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's official news agency says a complex computer worm has affected the personal computers of staff at the country's first nuclear power plant weeks before the facility is to go online.

The IRNA news agency is quoting the head of the Bushehr nuclear plant, Mahmoud Jafari, as saying a team is inspecting several computers to remove the malware, but that it "has not caused any damage to major systems of the plant."

Experts in Germany discovered the worm in July, and it has since shown up in a number of attacks — primarily in Iran, Indonesia, India and the U.S.

The computer worm, dubbed Stuxnet, can take over systems that control the inner workings of industrial plants.

Iran's nuclear agency met last week to discuss ways of fighting the worm.