Thursday, January 17, 2013

US Power Plants (Including Nuclear Plants) Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks

 

Two US power plants infected with malware spread via USB drive Investigators find no up-to-date antivirus, system backups for control systems. http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/01/two-us-power-plants-infected-with-malware-spread-via-usb-drive/

[Excerpted] Critical control systems inside two US power generation facilities were found infected with computer malware, according to the US Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team. 

Both infections were spread by USB drives that were plugged into critical systems used to control power generation equipment, according to the organization's newsletter for October, November, and December of 2012. The authors didn't identify the owners of the facilities and there's no indication the infections resulted in injuries or equipment failures. 

The incidents were reported earlier by Threat Post, and they are the latest to underscore the vulnerabilities posed by so-called supervisory control and data acquisition systems that aren't properly secured. SCADA and industrial control systems use computers to flip switches, turn dials, and manipulate other controls inside dams, power-generation plants, and other critical infrastructure. Computer malware that infects those systems can pose a threat by giving remote attackers the ability to sabotage sensitive equipment....


HAT TIP: PhillipUpNorth at Enenews

POSTS ON COMPUTER VIRUSES STUXNET AND FLAME

Jun 22, 2012
Common Dreams US, Israel behind Flame Virus Cyber-Attack on Iran, US Officials Confirm - Common Dreams staff June 20 http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/06/20-3 [excerpted] "Flame Virus part of larger, ...
 
Nov 09, 2012
The US and Israel are also seen as the culprits in producing the virus Flame, which uses computer networks to jump from computer-to-computer, downloading files that are transmitted out of the system using the fax network.
http://majiasblog.blogspot.co.uk/
 
Aug 10, 2012
[Excerpted] A security firm said Thursday that it had discovered what it believed was the fourth state-sponsored computer virus to surface in the Middle East in the last three years, apparently aimed at computers in Lebanon.
 
Jun 02, 2012
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/stuxnet-was-work-of-us-and-israeli-experts-officials-say/2012/06/01/gJQAlnEy6U_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines_Sat. By Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick, ...
 
May 29, 2012
"Researchers have identified a sophisticated new computer virus 20 times the size of Stuxnet, the malicious software that disabled centrifuges in an Iranian nuclear plant. But unlike Stuxnet, the new malware appears to be ...
 
Jul 28, 2012
Now, I start listening when authorities argue too vehemently that "no" threat exists. I am concerned that the strong assertion that Stuxnet hasn't impacted US nuclear power plants is in fact a sign that there are concerns that it ...
 
Jun 28, 2012
This is intentional, but I suspect this computer attack (virus Stuxnet - Japan/Iran) to be controlled to the extent where despite the fact that this is a nuclear power plant of sight, the possibility of a redirection of the radioactive ...
 
Jun 21, 2012
Two leading computer security firms - Kaspersky Lab and Symantec Corp - have confirmed that the software code in the Flame virus matches an earlier detected virus, Stuxnet, which was widely believed to have been used by ...
 
Aug 17, 2012
http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-computer-virus-larger-than-stuxnet.html ... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/06/01/154162121/as-the-worm-turns-cybersecurity-expert-tracks-blowback-from-stuxnet 5.
 
 
 
 

 

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