Just weeks after MI5 warned banks and utility owners that hackers are targeting systems that control critical national infrastructure, the CIA has issued a similar warning to US operators.
CIA senior analyst Tom Donahue told an international Sans Instituteprocess control security conference last week that the agency had evidence from outside the US that hackers were blackmailing victims.
"We have information, from multiple regions outside the US, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands," he told 300 officials, engineers and security managers from electric, water, oil & gas and other critical industry operators from the US, UK, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
"We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge," he said. "We have information that cyber attacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the US. In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the internet."
In December the UK's Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure wrote to 300 UK firms warning of hack attacks by "Chinese state organisations".
The UK and US authorities have developed checklists for any firm that believes it might be a target. For more information on the US's SCADA and Control Systems Survival Kit e-mail scada@sans.org. The CPNI's advice was updated last week.
Showing posts with label cyberwarfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cyberwarfare. Show all posts
China Crafts Cyberweapons
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) continues to build cyberwarfare units and develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems as part of its information-warfare strategy, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) warned in a report released on Friday.
"The PLA has established information warfare units to develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems and networks," the annual DOD report on China's military warned. At the same, Chinese armed forces are developing ways to protect its own systems from an enemy attack, it said, echoing similar warnings made in previous years.
These capabilities are part of China's ongoing military modernization efforts, which have seen the country add dozens of high-tech fighters and ballistic missiles to its arsenal. China isn't alone in building the capability to attack an enemy's computer systems. The U.S. and other countries have developed similar abilities.
The PLA's virus-writing efforts have been underway for years, reflecting the importance that China apparently attaches to information warfare. As early as 2000, the DOD warned, "China has the capability to penetrate poorly protected U.S. computer systems and potentially could use CNA [computer network attacks] to attack specific U.S. civilian and military infrastructures."
In recent years, the PLA has begun training more seriously for computer attacks, including them as part of larger military exercises in 2005.
The main focus of China's military modernization efforts are Taiwan, an island nation that China views as a renegade province. The two separated in 1949 after a civil war between the Communist and Nationalist armies, with the Nationalist forces retreating to Taiwan. China has long threatened to attack Taiwan if the island formally declares independence, and the expansion of China's military capabilities are largely geared towards a possible attack against Taiwan.
"A limited military campaign could include computer network attacks against Taiwan’s political, military, and economic infrastructure to undermine the Taiwan population’s confidence in its leadership," the report said.
But the U.S., which would likely intervene in a Chinese attack on Taiwan, is also a potential target, it said.
"The PLA has established information warfare units to develop viruses to attack enemy computer systems and networks," the annual DOD report on China's military warned. At the same, Chinese armed forces are developing ways to protect its own systems from an enemy attack, it said, echoing similar warnings made in previous years.
These capabilities are part of China's ongoing military modernization efforts, which have seen the country add dozens of high-tech fighters and ballistic missiles to its arsenal. China isn't alone in building the capability to attack an enemy's computer systems. The U.S. and other countries have developed similar abilities.
The PLA's virus-writing efforts have been underway for years, reflecting the importance that China apparently attaches to information warfare. As early as 2000, the DOD warned, "China has the capability to penetrate poorly protected U.S. computer systems and potentially could use CNA [computer network attacks] to attack specific U.S. civilian and military infrastructures."
In recent years, the PLA has begun training more seriously for computer attacks, including them as part of larger military exercises in 2005.
The main focus of China's military modernization efforts are Taiwan, an island nation that China views as a renegade province. The two separated in 1949 after a civil war between the Communist and Nationalist armies, with the Nationalist forces retreating to Taiwan. China has long threatened to attack Taiwan if the island formally declares independence, and the expansion of China's military capabilities are largely geared towards a possible attack against Taiwan.
"A limited military campaign could include computer network attacks against Taiwan’s political, military, and economic infrastructure to undermine the Taiwan population’s confidence in its leadership," the report said.
But the U.S., which would likely intervene in a Chinese attack on Taiwan, is also a potential target, it said.
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