A cyber attack on a Springfield, Ill. public water utility resulted in the destruction of one of its pumps, according to a security expert.
While I would do away with alarmist statements like "This required almost no skill and could be reproduced by a two year old with a basic knowledge of Simatic", and find it hard to give any amount of credibility to people that make such stupid pronouncements, the situation described in this article points out once again how SCADA systems are still not being treated at the level of sensitivity they should be.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners Used at U.S. Airports
The European Union on Monday prohibited the use of X-ray body scanners in European airports, parting ways with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, which has deployed hundreds of the scanners as a way to screen millions of airline passengers for explosives hidden under clothing.
The European Commission, which enforces common policies of the EU's 27 member countries, adopted the rule “in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens’ health and safety.”
The European Commission, which enforces common policies of the EU's 27 member countries, adopted the rule “in order not to risk jeopardizing citizens’ health and safety.”
Police trick 19 criminals into coming forward with free beer
Undercover officers at Derbyshire police sent letters to dozens of people who had evaded arrest asking them to ring a marketing company to collect a free crate of beer.
A total of 19 suspects fell for the hoax and called the number on the letter, which put them through to police officers based at Chesterfield Police Station.
They were told that they needed to arrange a date and time for the free alcohol to be dropped off at an agreed address.
But instead of being handed free ale the wanted men found themselves confronted by police, handcuffed and under arrest.
A total of 19 suspects fell for the hoax and called the number on the letter, which put them through to police officers based at Chesterfield Police Station.
They were told that they needed to arrange a date and time for the free alcohol to be dropped off at an agreed address.
But instead of being handed free ale the wanted men found themselves confronted by police, handcuffed and under arrest.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
What is Phlashing
Phlashing is a permanent denial of service (DoS) attack that exploits a vulnerability in network-based firmware updates. Such an attack is currently theoretical but if carried out could render the target device inoperable.
Rich Smith, head of HP's Systems Security Lab, discovered the vulnerability and demonstrated the attack at the EUSecWest security conference in June 2008. In a real-world execution, an attacker could use remote update paths in network hardware, which are often left unprotected, to deliver corrupted and flash this to the device. As a result, the device would become unusable.
Rich Smith, head of HP's Systems Security Lab, discovered the vulnerability and demonstrated the attack at the EUSecWest security conference in June 2008. In a real-world execution, an attacker could use remote update paths in network hardware, which are often left unprotected, to deliver corrupted and flash this to the device. As a result, the device would become unusable.
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