New Threat: Hackers Target Power Plants
Posted By thestatedtruth.com on August 4, 2010
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press Writer= WASHINGTON (AP) — Computer hackers have begun targeting power plants and other critical operations around the world in bold new efforts to seize control of them, setting off a scramble to shore up aging, vulnerable systems.
Cyber criminals have long tried, at times successfully, to break into vital networks and power systems. But last month, experts for the first time discovered a malicious computer code — called a worm — specifically created to take over systems that control the inner workings of industrial plants.
In response to the growing threat, the Department of Homeland Security has begun building specialized teams that can respond quickly to cyber emergencies at industrial facilities across the country.
As much as 85 percent of the nation’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by private companies, ranging from nuclear and electric power plants to transportation and manufacturing systems. Many of the new attacks have occurred overseas, but the latest episode magnified worries about the security of plants in the U.S.
“This type of malicious code and others we’ve seen recently are actually attacking the physical components, the devices that open doors, close doors, build cars and open gates,” said Sean McGurk, director of control systems security for Homeland Security. “They’re not just going after the ones and zeros (of a computer code), they’re going after the devices that actually produce or conduct physical processes.”
Full article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9204843
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