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Ah, remember those heady days of olde when hacking was just for fun and education? Guess it’s grown up into the Mafia. John and Adam mentioned this trend on the latest No Agenda show. |
CIA: Hackers demanding cash disrupted power utilities overseas
Hackers literally turned out the lights in multiple cities after breaking into electrical utilities and demanding extortion payments before disrupting the power, a senior CIA analyst told utility engineers at a trade conference.
All the break-ins occurred outside the United States, said senior CIA analyst Tom Donahue. The U.S. government believes some of the hackers had inside knowledge to cause the outages. Donahue did not specify what countries were affected, when the outages occurred or how long the outages lasted. He said they happened in “several regions outside the United States.”
“In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities,” Donahue said in a statement. “We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet.”
Why is it even possible to control the power supplies over the internet?!
#1: Exactly. There shouldn’t be any connection between power plant control systems (or control of electrical distribution systems) and the Internet. That is you shouldn’t be able to surf the Internet and control a plant on the same computer/PC.
Suposedly yes… However if I do recall correctly I’ve read somewhere (SANS newsletter?) that a virus in a Windows PC responsible for watching over a nuclear reactor cooling system had, by draining system resources, “disabled” the cooling system. The reactor had other independent control systems which shutdown the reactor afterwards, but nevertheless, if on a nuclear facility this can happen, remote power outages don’t seem to me that amazing…
Though amazingly sad…
This is a set up to make the internet look bad. They are trying to censor freedom of internet information. There are five powerful people who own the media but are powerless against the internet. The internet make Ron Paul popular while the media are suppression information about Ron Paul running for President. The elite control the information giving in the media but no control on internet blog.
1. AND this happened WHERE?
2. THERE isnt any money IN’ this facility. How long of a siege do you THINK they had?
3. So they call the Governor, and say, “WE are having a problem, and they WANT money”, HOW long do you think it would take to find them?
4. DOS attack?? What? these folks have EMAIL?? Or are they sending 100,000 Pings at the site from Many locations??
5. Net interconnection is possible and viable, but it would be STUPID not to use encrypted Systems and data routes, and NON-standard protocols. Ever hear of DIRECT DIALING?? Of has this OLD format been lost to the past.
You really dont want to run Wiring 20-50 miles away when a phone line runs Past both places.
As it is reported, it really seems fully fabricated.
Some nice thoughts:
‘A President once said,
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”
Now it seems like we’re supposed to be afraid
It’s patriotic in fact and color coded
And what are we supposed to be afraid of?
Why, of being afraid
That’s what terror means, doesn’t it?
That’s what it used to mean’
Randy Newman “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country”, (www.randynewman.com)
Pay me or I will keep submitting replies to this blog!
“That is you shouldn’t be able to surf the Internet and control a plant on the same computer/PC.”
Hey I resemble that remark.
You people would be freaked out if you realized how unprotected most utilities are in the U.S. and I suspect in the world.
8,
Then they are MORE stupid then TV paints them.
It would be to easy to setup a DIALUP system, with a STRANGE protocol, and a proprietary interface, and 2-3 password system.
No email
No internet
No anything…
Just the system.
You would need the Protocols, the Phone number(not to hard) and 2-3 sets of passwords.
AND if there was a TRY at cracking the passwords, a warning would be sent, radio/cell/phone call.