We trust the resident aliens in this country. This is how we are rewarded? Iran & Nuk

[Joeaksa]

Let me guess where this asswipe's new job is? Could it be in the new nuke plant in Iran?

He steals the software to train people on nuke plants and suddenly has an extra $98,000 in his bank account. Wonder where that came from?

What really pisses me off here is that he is facing only 21 month in jail and that the local company running our power plant did not remove his name and password from the system after he retired. Who in the hell is running this zoo?

Joe

~~~~~~~~~

Palo Verde software is breached
• Ex-employee used it during trip to Iran, officials say

Robert Anglen and Ken Alltucker
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 21, 2007 12:00 AM

Federal authorities are accusing a former engineer at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (Edit JUST WEST OF PHOENIX ARIZONA) of illegally taking software codes to Iran and downloading details of control rooms, reactors and designs of the nation's largest nuclear plant.

Officers arrested Mohammad "Mo" Alavi, 49, in Los Angeles this month and charged him with one count of violating a trade embargo, which prohibits Americans from exporting goods and services to Iran.

Authorities say there is no evidence to suggest the use of the software was linked to terrorists or the Iranian government, which has clashed with the U.S. over attempts to develop a nuclear program.
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"The investigation has not led us to believe this information was taken for the purpose of being used by a foreign government or terrorists to attack us," FBI spokeswoman Deborah McCarley told The Arizona Republic on Friday. "This does not appear to be terrorist-related."

Officials with Arizona Public Service Co., which operates Palo Verde, said the software does not pose a security risk because it doesn't control any of the nuclear plant's operating systems and is mostly used to train employees.

But they acknowledged that they changed procedures after the incident to prohibit former employees from accessing software when they leave the company. No such procedure was in place when Alavi quit APS in August after working there for 16 years.

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said Friday that "this incident has not compromised plant security."

The incident is the latest in a string of problems that has plagued the nuclear power plant, located 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix.

Alavi, an Iranian native who has lived in the United States as a naturalized citizen since 1976, is being held without bail in California. Alavi's lawyer said Friday that he denies any wrongdoing.

"Mr. Alavi is a U.S. citizen. He respects the court process, and he asserts his innocence," said Milagros Cisneros of the Federal Defender's Office in Phoenix. She said the government's indictment of her client is "more smoke than fire."

She declined to address specific allegations in the indictment, including whether Alavi gained unauthorized access to software and bought a laptop computer weeks before he resigned and moved to Iran.

A federal judge in Phoenix denied Alavi bail Friday, saying he posed a substantial flight risk.

"If released, it would not be difficult for him to sever electronic monitoring and leave the country by land," Judge Neil Wake said. "Ultimately, returning to Iran would require some effort but would not be difficult once he left the United States.

"Alavi's most important associations - family, home, business investment, intended employment and future plans - are all with Iran, not the United States."

Alavi faces up to 21 months in prison if convicted of the charge. One factor in determining any sentence could be whether the software and schematics of Palo Verde landed in the wrong hands, Wake said.

Alavi was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on April 9 when he returned from Iran to join his wife, who arrived in the United States two weeks earlier to give birth to their child.

Wake said Alavi intended to immediately return to Iran to live.

"He has no intention of resuming residence in the United States," Wake said. "He is seeking employment in Iran, having invested $60,000 in a company with the expectation of getting employment. Alavi owns a house in Tehran valued at $150,000, in which relatives live."

Alavi's only connections to the United States, the judge said, are a $200,000 retirement fund, his friends, citizenship "and the possibility that he may want to return if he becomes disappointed in his plan to make his life in Iran."

Authorities say he recently deposited $98,000 into a U.S. bank account.

They also say Alavi's motivation for taking the software was to help set up his life in Iran.

After his resignation, authorities said, Alavi told fellow employees at Palo Verde and his apartment landlord that he was going to visit Iran for a few weeks and would then return to the United States and look for a new job.

But a month before giving his resignation notice, authorities said, Alavi bought a laptop computer and used it to download the 3KeyMaster software system.

The software is used to train employees on the operation of nuclear reactors.

It provides employees with emergency scenarios and instructs them to react with proper procedures. According to court records, the system contains detailed information on the reactor control rooms as well as maps, drawings, schematics and designs of the power plant.

Authorities said Alavi asked a Palo Verde software engineer to recommend a laptop and help him obtain a user name and password to access the software system.

Another employee saw Alavi with that laptop in the simulator room, with a 3KeyMasterand screen displayed. The employee didn't raise any alarms.

On Aug. 9, Alavi bought a one-way ticket to Tehran, Iran. His last day at the company was Aug. 14. Two days later, he left the country with his wife. In October, authorities say, the software system was accessed from a person using the Palo Verde user ID in Tehran.

The software's maker, Western Services in Maryland, had no idea that Alavi had resigned from Palo Verde and did not try to restrict his access, according to a federal affidavit.

Nobody from Palo Verde informed Western Services that Alavi had quit his job at the power plant, the FBI said. The nuclear plant did not instruct the software company to remove Alavi's user name or password from the company's Web site.

Western Services officials refused to respond to an interview request Friday.

Since the incident, APS has changed its policy and now requires plant managers to check a box to make sure former employees don't have access to external software systems.

"We have reviewed our policies and upgraded them," APS spokesman Jim McDonald said. "The company has taken additional measures to further strengthen controls of proprietary software in light of these events."

McDonald said the company has always cut off access to all internal computers but not to vendor computers.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in February downgraded Palo Verde's rating to the rank of most regulated nuclear power plant in the nation, triggering more rigorous oversight and additional inspections.

The triple-reactor power plant enjoyed a streak of largely problem-free operations through the late 1990s and into the early part of this decade.

Problems surfaced in 2004 with discovery of a "dry pipe" that could have disrupted the flow of water to the emergency core-cooling system. Other equipment problems followed, such as leaking oil seals and faulty diesel generator wiring. The problems shut down reactors more than a dozen times over the past three years.

A major trend identified by nuclear inspectors has been poor communication and poor worker performance.

In a letter sent to Palo Verde managers in March, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted that it cited the plant for 25 minor violations.

Among the problems noted by federal inspectors included workers not always following technical procedures during reactor startups, failing to follow procedures and not using error-prevention techniques.

APS vowed to employees and the community to do a better job. The utility said it hired Randy Edington, one of the nuclear industry's top troubleshooters, as chief nuclear officer to fix problems and restore accountability at Palo Verde.

Employees at Palo Verde first learned about the Alavi incident in an e-mail sent Friday by APS.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0421nuclear0421.html

[red-beard]

I expect that the information he gave them is available on the internet. One of the troubles with trusting spies and paying them for information, is that most of the time, the information wasn't worth the money. I bet this was the case.

STILL, I think the pig should rot in jail.

[Moneyguy1]

Or worse.

[Joeaksa]

Agree with both of the above.

What really pissed me off was to see that this ass stole the software to train Iranian people on nuke power plants, and is planning on returning to Iran to live, then he brings his wife back to America to have their child!!!

1. That means that this new child will be an American citizen by birthright.

2. These two wonderful samples of nature also do not trust the hospitals or doctors in Iran and want their child born here with the best health care in the world. They spy on this country but then want to take the fruit that our country offers, and then return home to Iran.

Makes me sick...

[artplumber]

Joe,
All people coming to the country might have ulterior motives. That should be obvious, both to you and the gubmint. If you want to really push the disgustometer, think about John Anthony Walker

[Jim727]

Well, that certainly blackened my mood. That whole thing is so unbelievably beyond stupid I would put it in the category of criminally negligent. "APS has changed its policy and now requires plant managers to check a box..." CHECK A BOX?!?!?!?! And what's with "...the company has always cut off access to all internal computers but not to vendor computers"? We don't need no stinkin' security, we're just a nuclear facility. Criminal, and it sounds like they're more involved in PR damage control than truly fixing what is clearly a very serious problem.

Heads need to roll, starting at the top. And where is the "Homeland Security" department? Aren't they supposed to have some involvement with securing critical infrastructure?

And while I'm on a rant, this guy's citizenship really sounds more like a strategic maneuver than a desire to become part of the country. If that's true, his wife needs to be sent to Iran before the kid is born.

[sammyg2]

They need to lock that asshat in containment for about 6 months and cook him like a christmas goose.

BTW, there is vert little information available about nuclear plants on their intranet that is not already publically available. I've worked in containment and in the restricted area at San Onofre, once you get through the training and past the security checks it's all basically old technology. I probably know more about the reactor section than mohammed.

Still, there is no logical reason to let ANYONE from the outside into this country, ever. We already have more than enough people, more than enough skilled workers, more than enough labor. Lock the darn borders and be done with it for good. I have no inclination to leave this country, there is no where else I want to see so no one in, no one out would be just fine with me. Isolationism forever
If we stop educating our enemies they will not be able to fight us as well.

[CurtEgerer]

When I was in engineering college in the late 70s/early 80s, our universities were filled with Iranians (all of whom seemed to drive brand new black & gold Trans Ams and dress like John Travolta in Sat Night Fever for some reason ....). Iran was our buddy at the time, not Iraq. These 'fellow' alumni would all be in their late 40's now and are running all the weapons and nuke operations over there I'm sure - with their paid-in-cash US educations!

Until we start drilling for our own oil on our own soil, there will be no end to these types of things. But we wouldn't want to endanger the spotted moose frogs would we?

[Jim727]

Originally posted by CurtEgerer
Until we start drilling for our own oil on our own soil, there will be no end to these types of things. But we wouldn't want to endanger the spotted moose frogs would we?

I wouldn't. At least not for oil. The future belongs to the country that has the technology to not be dependent on oil. But that's another subject, eh? Getting back to the spirit of Joe's thread, the nutcases/ideologues that would go after nuke plants undoubtedly have their eyes on our refineries, pipelines, etc. We need to get smarter.

[jyl]

A large portion of the Silicon Valley tech companies I deal with were started by and/or run by non-US born. And if we could employ only US-born semiconductor and software engineers, we wouldn't have the US tech industry.

Originally posted by sammyg2
Still, there is no logical reason to let ANYONE from the outside into this country, ever. We already have more than enough people, more than enough skilled workers, more than enough labor. Lock the darn borders and be done with it for good. I have no inclination to leave this country, there is no where else I want to see so no one in, no one out would be just fine with me. Isolationism forever
If we stop educating our enemies they will not be able to fight us as well.

[sammyg2]

I really doubt that.

[jyl]

Then you have spent little time w/ US tech companies.

[Joeaksa]

Unfortunately John is correct in this area. The vast number of immigrants from India, Pakistan and that general area is overwhelming in the silicon valley and other tech areas in this country.

They push the value of an education to their kids and we do not do the same, or at least to the same level. They graduate engineers, doctors, nurses and so on in vast numbers, far over what we are able to do here in America.

Its a shame but its our fault.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally posted by sammyg2
I really doubt that.

If you spent 10 minutes in a tech company you'd have no doubt whatsoever.