Carna Botnet Analysis Enumerates Vulnerable Network Devices

The Carna botnet, more formally known as the Internet Census 2012, stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy when it was unveiled in March to a number of popular security mailing lists. An unidentified researcher had found more than 420,000 embedded devices that were accessible online with defaul...

Iranian Hackers targeting US oil, gas, and electric companies

For all the talk about China and the Syrian Electronic Army, it seems there's another threat to U.S. cyber interests i.e Iran. Series of potentially destructive computer attacks that have been targeting American oil, gas and electricity companies tracked back to Iran. Iranian hackers were able to...

Iranian Hackers targeting US oil, gas, and electric companies

For all the talk about China and the Syrian Electronic Army, it seems there's another threat to U.S. cyber interests i.e Iran. Series of potentially destructive computer attacks that have been targeting American oil, gas and electricity companies tracked back to Iran. Iranian hackers were able to...

Vendor Admin Accounts Warning

Overview An asset owner recently notified the ICS-CERT that a vendor support contractor had added an administrative-level account during installation of new control systems software. The support contractor intended the account to be the default used to train their people for all future work on...

Researcher Hacks Google Office Management System

Industrial control minded researchers from the security firm Cylance launched a custom exploit against a building management system deployed at Google’s Sydney, Australia office, gaining access to a configuration file containing device administration passwords that could be used to gain complete...

Cisco Prime Network Control Systems default account

Default database account...

Obama Cybersecurity Executive Order Expected Tomorrow

This week figures to be a high-profile time for cybersecurity on Capitol Hill. Reports say President Barack Obama will issue a long-awaited executive order shortly after tonight’s State of the Union address, while another stab at getting the controversial CISPA cybersecurity bill signed into law...

Password Cracker Targets Siemens S7 PLCs

Siemens S7 programmable logic controllers, the same PLC family exploited by the Stuxnet malware, are in the crosshairs of a password-cracking tool that is capable of stealing credentials from industrial control systems. PLCs are microprocessors that automate mechanical processes inside factories,...

The use of passwords in a technological evolution

Every day we read about an incredible number of successful attacks and data breaches that exploited leak of authentication mechanisms practically in every sector. Often also critical control system are exposed on line protected only by a weak password, in many cases the default one of factory...

Malware Infects US Power Plants through USB Drives

The US Department of Homeland Security's Cyber Emergency Response Team has released a report, which stated that two American electrical power plants were compromised late last year and has identified a number of glaring electronic vulnerabilities. Some unknown malware infected two power plants...

Cogent Real-Time Systems Vulnerabilities

Overview Dillon Beresford of Cimation has identified four vulnerabilities in the Cogent Real-Time Systems DataHub application. Cogent has produced an update that mitigates these vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities could be exploited remotely. Affected Products Cogent Real-Time Systems reports...

Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol Memory Corruption Vulnerability

Overview ICS-CERT is aware of a public report of a Remote Desktop Protocol RDP vulnerability with proof-of-concept PoC exploit code affecting multiple Microsoft Windows operating systems. RDP is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft, which provides a user with a graphical interface to...

Hunting vulnerabilities in SCADA systems, we are still too vulnerable to cyber attacks

Stuxnet case is considered by security expert the first concrete act of cyber warfare, a malware specifically designed to hit SCADA systems inside nuclear plants in Iran. The event has alerted the international security community on the risks related to the effects of a cyber attack against...

DNP3 start application function code

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Embedded Systems, Critical Infrastructure 'Renovation' Outpacing Security

Scott Tousley, deputy director cybersecurity division at Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology, is an advocate of integrating cybersecurity education into all disciplines of IT and business and risk management. “We don’t want to teach cybersecurity as a stovepipe, but to do it so...

Cisco Releases Security Advisory for Cisco Secure Access Control Systems (ACS)

Cisco Secure Access Control Systems ACS contains a vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass the TACACS+ based authentication service offered by the product. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. US-CERT encourages users and...

DHS Chief Uses 'Sandy' to Underscore Cybersecurity Threats

While the eastern United States recovers from this week’s devastasting storm, the nation’s Homeland Security chief used “Superstorm Sandy” to promote the importance of national cybersecurity protection. “One of the possible areas of attack, of course, is attacks on our nation’s control systems —...

Kaspersky Lab Developing Secure Operating System for SCADA

Eugene Kaspersky is working with his engineers at Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab to create a secure-by-design OS for ICS. In an interview Kaspersky said " It's true no one else ever tried to make a secure operating system. This may sound weird because of the many efforts Microsoft, Apple and...

Eugene Kaspersky Unveils Plans for New Secure SCADA OS

Attacks against SCADA and industrial-control systems have become a major concern for private companies as well as government agencies, with executives and officials worried about the potential effects of a major compromise. Security experts in some circles have been warning about the possible...

Power Plants Are Vulnerable To Hackers with Siemens flaw

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued an alert warning that hackers could exploit code in Siemens-owned technology to attack power plants and other national critical infrastructure. Justin W. Clarke, an expert in securing industrial control systems, disclosed at a conference in Los...