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Experts Hack Power Grid in Less Than a Day
bednarz writes "Cracking a power company network and gaining access that could shut down the grid is simple, a security expert told an RSA audience, and he has done so in less than a day. Ira Winkler, a penetration-testing consultant, says he and a team of other experts took a day to set up attack tools they needed then launched their attack, which paired social engineering with corrupting browsers on a power company's desktops. By the end of a full day of the attack, they had taken over several machines at the unnamed power company, giving the team the ability to hack into the control network overseeing power production and distribution."
What's wrong with the good old fashioned "lying" or "scamming"? Fucking con-artists trying to sound legit.
Why wouldn't the power company use a private network? Why is there EVER a need to have access to those systems over the internet?
Realistically, no part of a nations critical infrastructure should be networked (other than the internet itself). That seems pretty obvious.
An attack on a control point of the power grid could cause millions in damage if properly executed, and possibly lives from extended loss of power. I'd like to think the power grid has built-in protections to keep a 'bad node' from ruining several others, but it just might not..seeing as how companies build for economy before they build for safety.
Even something as simple as opening a few junctions could cause fireworks..take a look at some online videos about 'opening hot' for example..now imagine if that arc caught other pieces of equipment because the line was still energized.
Simply put, the power industry needs to step up to the plate and harden both their network infrastructure and their meatspace infrastructure against malicious attack.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
How we know is more important than what we know.
Maybe don't go to the extremes of requiring everything to need high security (such as entering the building or doing everyday work), but things such as shutting down the power grid should require extra security. Access to the important controls should have extra security. With security, one size does not fit all.
I should hope that critical things like "TURN THE WHOLE POWER GRID OFF" are not even on a secure server. They should be on terminals that are not even connected to the Internet, much less networked to anywhere else in the building.
It's awfully difficult to hack something when it isn't connected to the Net. Even simple security like multiple checkpoints, a keycard, and several biometric scans (as well as regular, and often, virus and spyware scans) to get to a secure terminal would go well towards protecting the security of our power networks. Hell, post a guard nearby who isn't incompetent.
The one thing Social Engineers/Con Men fear most is challenges - and by challenges, I mean challenges of authority. PROVE you are who you say you are. Check their records against a secure terminal or a hard copy of an employee roster. If anything is remotely fishy, no matter how "important" they say the work is, don't let them past you.
Vigilance is the key, and far too many critical parts of our infrastructure still fail at it to this day.
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Disconnect the damn control network already. It will be much harder to break into when it is not physically connected to the internet.
Why do we keep critical networks connected to the rest of the net? Why don't resources like these, and the governments, set up proprietary networks that are inaccessible from the global internet base to prevent these sort of things? I never really understood that.
Accessing to the crucial computers should require a training where computer security and social engineering are explained. Every user access should have different passwords easily revocable as soon as a flaw is detected. Of course, crucial computers should be on a different network than internet-connected systems.
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
After the '03 outage it made me wonder how safe all those high-rise electrical towers that run across the country are. A stick of dynamite on a tower itself, or even just a few shots with a rifle to the wires attached. Would just one tower lead to another blackout - scary considering those towers are of course everywhere.
I've wondered over the years what someone with a high powered rifle taking potshots at oil/propane/liquid hydrogen tankers on the interstates would do. Mainly this crosses my mind while driving alongside one of them and having seen too many Hollywood movies with things blowing up.
Seperation of privileges is the best method. Social engineering tends to work because people who have privileges lack certain information and/or lack authority in the role of the privileges they have.
If you have full authority in your role and personally know everyone who is involved in your role then you can't be easily tricked by people outside your role in to doing things.
This requires education and a proper company structure, which requires good smart people in management.
...and that is all I have to say about that.
http://jessta.id.au
shutting down the power grid should require extra security
DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
CRITICAL FAILURE IS IMMINENT, YOU MUST SHUT DOWN THE REACTOR IMMEDIATELY
Please enter password:
Password is incorrect!
Password is incorrect!
Password is incorrect!
You have been locked out for 10 minutes.
It's too easy to blame it on lack of oversight from regulators. The prime people that are responsible for this are the people that run the company, and to a lesser degree, the people that work there.
Bah... If you can't do it in under a minute while a gorgeous girl is <ahem> distracting you and John Travolta is holding a gun to your head, you're no-one.
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
....Same way autorun works from a CD....
Of course this works only in Windows! There you have another reason to use a Mac or Linux. Why, oh WHY does MS program their OS to automatically run whatever crap is on a data storage device?
All theory is gray