Think It Can't Happen Here?

3057 Views 18 Replies 12 Participants Last post by dhawk, Mar 28, 2011

Halkon

Discussion Starter · Mar 23, 2011

Critical U.S. Infrastructure at Risk of Cyber Attack, Experts Warn
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/03/22/major-industries-vulnerable-cyber-attack/?test=latestnews

Just as the computers that ran Iran’s nuclear program were sabotaged and crippled by a cyber “super worm” virus, the software used to run much of America’s industrial, transportation and power infrastructure -- including nuclear power plants and major airports -- is vulnerable to cyber attack, and two software companies have revealed dozens of successful hacks to prove it.

Remember, the chance of an event occurring that already happened, is never Zero :xeye:

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While the stuxnet virus (whose existence has yet to be proven) could work on a poorly defended system like Iran's, it's doubtful that it could work on more than a small scale here in the US.
Why?
Because most of the systems involved w/ the power grid are actually not networked and a number systems are isolated from an outside access.It might be possible for the Chinese to bribe people into installing the virus. But even then there's no guarantees that the person wouldn't get caught, that teh virus would work or that this action wouldn't be discovered before it caused a problem.

I'm a maintenance planner and I have worked on systems similar to ones described (both PLC-based, as well as SCADA) and I know that w/o serious effort on the part of a determined group or nation-state compromising the power transmission system in the US would difficult, bordering on impossible.

It makes for nice stories and it sells quite a few books, but in reality most of what is proposed is still a decade or so away and may never happen given the proper pre-planning steps.

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nevadaexile

· #17 · Mar 27, 2011

Rockclimber said:
True, they do, and they have barbed wire and a wall around most complexes. They were showing the plant on the Mississippi river on CNN today, and I was surprised at how unprotected it looked. They had dry casks out in the open in the yard.. they even said they were afraid a terrorist would fly a plane into the the dry casks because they are open in the yard and a soft target. It would be a cake walk for 5 men to take out the SWAT from afar and then storm the building. Here in America we have the illusion of security, but not real honest security. Nuclear security is severely lacking, we need to bring some troops home to guard the boarder and our important infrastructure IE nuclear reactors.

The best protection from that type of attack would useful intelligence BEFORE it happens. Waiting until it does happen would waiting to be defeated.

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