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Cyber security: What's the CIA telling us?
Interesting stories of cyber security incidents are hard to come by. Companies rarely want to discuss when and how their systems have been violated. The industry in general doesn't want to give hackers ideas or publicize when they've been successful. So when a CIA cyber security analyst makes public proclamations that the control systems of electric utilities have been hacked, it should get your attention.
According to the Washington Post, CIA analyst Tom Donahue told attendees at the SANS Institute meeting in New Orleans, that cyber attackers hacked into the computer systems of utility companies outside the U.S., made extortion demands, and even caused at least one power outage over multiple cities. "We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet," says Donahue. He went on to say that they believe the hackers probably had some inside help.
They didn't go into much more detail about where or when, but the fact that they said anything at all is worthy of note. Alan Paller, research director for the SANS Institute observed, "The CIA wouldn't have changed its policy on disclosure if it wasn't important. Donahue wouldn't have said it publicly if he didn't think the threat was very large and that companies needed to fix things right now."
Cyber attack activity is growing, and it is climbing at a serious rate. (See Control Engineering article.) If you want a quick overview of how you can the first steps toward protecting your control system networks, check out this Control Engineering Webcast. Time to fix things indeed.
Cyber security: What's the CIA telling us?
January 22, 2008
Interesting stories of cyber security incidents are hard to come by. Companies rarely want to discuss when and how their systems have been violated. The industry in general doesn't want to give hackers ideas or publicize when they've been successful. So when a CIA cyber security analyst makes public proclamations that the control systems of electric utilities have been hacked, it should get your attention.According to the Washington Post, CIA analyst Tom Donahue told attendees at the SANS Institute meeting in New Orleans, that cyber attackers hacked into the computer systems of utility companies outside the U.S., made extortion demands, and even caused at least one power outage over multiple cities. "We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet," says Donahue. He went on to say that they believe the hackers probably had some inside help.
They didn't go into much more detail about where or when, but the fact that they said anything at all is worthy of note. Alan Paller, research director for the SANS Institute observed, "The CIA wouldn't have changed its policy on disclosure if it wasn't important. Donahue wouldn't have said it publicly if he didn't think the threat was very large and that companies needed to fix things right now."
Cyber attack activity is growing, and it is climbing at a serious rate. (See Control Engineering article.) If you want a quick overview of how you can the first steps toward protecting your control system networks, check out this Control Engineering Webcast. Time to fix things indeed.
Posted by Peter Welander on January 22, 2008 | Comments (0)
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