A newly published document leaked by Edward Snowden indicates that the NSA feared the same thing and that Iran may already be doing exactly this. The NSA document from April 2013, published today by The Intercept, shows the US intelligence community is worried that Iran has learned from attacks like Stuxnet, Flame and Duqu—all of which were created by the same teams—in order to improve its own capabilities.

The document suggests that such attacks don't just invite counterattacks but also school adversaries on new techniques and tools to use in their counterattacks, allowing them to increase the sophistication of these assaults. Iran, the document states, "has demonstrated a clear ability to learn from the capabilities and actions of others."

The document, which was prepared for a meeting between the NSA director and the British spy agency Government Communications Headquarters, doesn't mention the Stuxnet attack by name, but instead refers to "Western attacks against Iran's nuclear sector." Stuxnet targeted machines controlling centrifuges in Iran that were being used to enrich uranium for Iran's program.