Planet Money

Can computer hackers get inside your mind?

31 min

This episode of Planet Money investigates the discovery of 'Fast 16,' a sophisticated piece of malware from the mid-2000s that targeted Iranian nuclear scientists by secretly altering complex physics calculations, potentially driving them insane. The malware was uncovered by cybersecurity researcher 'Jags' (Juan Andrés Guerrero Saale), who spent years reverse-engineering it, revealing a 'cyber-psych' weapon designed to sow doubt in the scientists' results and destabilize Iran's nuclear program. The story highlights the invisible war between nations, blending cybersecurity with psychological warfare to prevent nuclear development.

Summarized by Podsumo

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

Jags, a cybersecurity researcher, discovered 'Fast 16,' a malware so secret that the NSA labeled it 'nothing to see here, carry on' to divert its own operators' attention.
2

The malware specifically altered pressure calculations for nuclear explosion simulations, making computers produce 'right wrong answers' that could drive scientists to question their own sanity.
3

Fast 16 is believed to have been part of the invisible cyber war against Iran, potentially slowing its nuclear program by undermining scientists' trust in their data.
4

The malware was unearthed using AI models, which confirmed it targeted high-precision math in physics software like LS-Dyna, used for nuclear warhead design.
5

Jags got a tattoo of 'Fast 16' as a reminder of the unresolved mystery, eventually solving it with colleague Vitali Kamluk after years of research.

💬 Notable Quotes

"The cunning of this attack is truly fascinating. Because at some point, I think before you ever consider that the computers are wrong, you almost certainly look at these scientists and go, maybe you guys are clowns."
"Fast 16 has been on the back of my arm for a while. You can see Fast 16 and nothing to see here. Nothing to see here. Carry on."
"If I had called it epistemological warfare, they would have said I was just being pretentious. I wouldn't have allowed myself that as a repentant philosopher."
"I felt that the target was scientists, civil engineers, corrupt their calculation results that would eventually produce risks for lives of others. So I was terrified. Like, why would people do that?"
"Everything about this thing screams special. Like it screams unique, it screams groundbreaking. And I think what's most excruciating about it is that the mystery won't yield."