Experts hack power grid in no time

[swag]

Source: Network World

SAN FRANCISCO -- 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, giving the team the ability to hack into the control network overseeing power production and distribution.

Winkler says he and his team were hired by the power company, which he would not name, to test the security of its network and the power grid it oversees. He would not say when the test was done, but referred to the timeframe as "now." The company called off the test after the team took over the machines.

"We had to shut down within hours," Winkler says, "because it was working too well. We more than proved that they were royally screwed." In addition to consulting, Winkler is author of the books Spies Among Us and Zen and the Art of Information Security.



Read more: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/040908-rsa-hack-power-grid.html?netht=ts_040908&nladname=040908dailynewspmal

[Winterblues]

1. Wonder how much is in Bush* budget to help Power companies combat this threat?

I bet there is not very much. America is really vulnerable to this type of attack whether electric grid or water supplies. Democrats have been talking about this issue for several years now to no avail..

[Javaman]

2. all your mega-joules are ours. nt

[merwin]

9. All our mega-joules are belong to us.

[AteAlien]

3. I'm still wondering what the true story was

back in '03. Seemed then like an unlikely occurrence.

forgot a link to what I'm talking about:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_North_America_blackout

[Triana]

4. Too bad we wasted all that $$$ in Iraq instead of on national security issues ....

.... like this one.

[Akoto]

5. Penetration-testing consultant. What a job title!

[izquierdista]

6. Depends on where you are

You are probably thinking porn film studio, you filthy fish-eyed fool. This clown is in with a bunch of electrical sockets. ouch!

[Liberty Belle]

7. What happens if they do it on election day and shut down all those electronic voting machines?

Just wonderin'.

[AdHocSolver]

8. The modern corporate executives do NOT understand technology and are often...

batsh*t stupid besides.

I worked in IT for several years. Except for a couple of notable instances, the managers had no understanding of computers or data processing technology at all.

These managers relied on certain "pet" programmers to help them make decisions. Often these pet programmers were chosen because they weren't very talented, and would never be in a position (or have the guts) to question a stupid decision the boss made.

Another issue is the reliance of so many technically-challenged managers on Microsoft software. Just as the old saying that "no one ever got fired for buying IBM" used to be operative in the days of mainframes, the mentality for several years is that "no one ever got fired for using Microsoft".

It should be common knowledge these days that Microsoft software is the software most vulnerable to attacks by viruses, worms, and trojan horses, not to mention the built-in bugs that you get with every purchase. The vermin count is in the tens of thousands and has given rise to entire industries to deal with it. Heck, the Microsoft Network itself was cracked and Microsoft only learned about the attack AFTER another company discovered it and informed Microsoft.

Yet corporate management has been uniformly scammed to buy Microsoft because it is a "standard". Today, because corporate leadership is so technologically clueless, the planet stands on the verge of watching extensive calamities occur, and the public stands by helpless waiting for the "shoe to drop".

Thanks to the "power" of privatization propaganda, unregulated capitalism continues on its rampage to destroy civilization.

[samsingh]

10. huge weakness here

[swag]

11. I think so. And not just in the public/private power generation industry.

Think of the financial services industry (banks, brokerages, etc.).