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Researchers Found a Hacking Tool that Targets Energy Grids on the Dark Web (vice.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A sophisticated piece of government-made malware, designed to do reconnaissance on energy grid's system ahead of an eventual cyberattack on critical infrastructure, was found on a dark web hacking forum. SentinelOne's researchers believe the malware was created by a team of hackers working for a government, likely from eastern Europe, according to a report published on Tuesday. Udi Shamir, chief security officer at SentinelOne, said that it's normal to find reused code and malware on forums because "nobody tries to reinvent the wheel again and again and again." But in this case, "it was very surprising to see such a sophisticated sample" appear in hacking forums, he told Motherboard in a phone interview.
Why are energy grids on the dark web?
too many secrets
I for one am surprised to discover that the dark web has enough energy grids to make them worth targeting.
</deadpan>
@Whee
Have gnu, will travel.
If a power control system or any other important infrastructure has it's SCADA system connected over the internet or even TO the internet....
The people in charge of it are MORONS.
There is ZERO reason to use the internet as your data systems for control interconnected. quit being cheap assholes and use private point to point. on an air gapped network.. And while you are at it HIRE COMPETENT ITSEC PEOPLE. Not Ex cops, those guys dont know shit about computer security...
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
*sigh* just in case you're serious, they found the tool on a hacking forum HOSTED on the dark net. It's not a story about accessing energy grids via TOR... But you're probably just trolling, so, hats off to you I guess.
640k ought to be enough for anyone.
Why would the energy grids be plugged into the Dark Web?
Because when all the evil hackers are looking for energy grids on the Normal Web, what better place to hide your energy grid than putting it on the Dark Web!
Sheer brilliance.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
Truthfully, that's why I clicked this story. I too wanted to see how energy grids were associated with the dark web. Poor editing, or bait and switch?
His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
the wheel was invented over and over again
Yeah. Saw another version of one the other day. Some kind of big screw-like pneumatic thingy.
His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
Why would the energy grids be plugged into the Dark Web?
...what better place to hide your energy grid than putting it on the Dark Web!
Sheer brilliance.
Wouldn't sheer brilliance cause it to become Web Lite?
His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
Who is going to protect our critical infrastructure from these no good commie atheist salo eaters.
Guess what? Electric grids were already hacked in what appears to be one of the first more or less real cyber-wars (previous - Estonia 2007, Georgia 2008 - were primarily powerful DDoS attacks to either disrupt services or cut off the country from the rest of the world).
The hacking happened in December 2015, in Ukraine. The attack was a sophisticated APT attack from Russia.
You can find more by following description in IR-ALERT-H-16-056-01 or reading the Wired article by Kim Zetter.
And, by the way, malware did find its way into nuclear power plants (though not control systems).