Researcher Releases Database of Known-Good ICS and SCADA Files

A prominent security researcher has put together a new database of hundreds of thousands of known-good files from ICS and SCADA software vendors in an effort to help users and other researchers identify legitimate files and home in on potentially malicious ones. The database, known as WhiteScope,...

Is It Time for Certified ICS Security Specialists?

The information security field is full of certifications – CompTIA, GIAC, CHE, ISC2 CISSP, CISM, with a vast number of areas and directions within these families. In the industrial space, the most “unsecured” enterprise sector compared to well-established information security practice in most...

Attacking ICS Systems 'Like Hacking in the 1980s'

PUNTA CANA–Here’s how nuts the world of ICS security is: Jonathan Pollet, a security consultant who specializes in ICS systems, was at a Texas amusement park recently and the ride he was waiting for was malfunctioning. The operator told him the ride used a Siemens PLC as part of the control syste...

Electric Cybersecurity Regulations Have Serial Problem

A class of SCADA vulnerabilities discussed at a recent conference is getting attention not only for the risks they pose to master control systems at electric utilities, but also for illuminating a dangerous gap in important critical infrastructure regulations. Researchers Adam Crain and Chris...

WellinTech KingSCADA Stack-Based Buffer Overflow

OVERVIEW An anonymous researcher working with HP’s Zero Day Initiative has identified a stack-based buffer overflow in the WellinTech KingSCADA Stack. WellinTech has produced a patch that mitigates this vulnerability. This vulnerability could be exploited remotely. AFFECTED PRODUCTS The following...

Cleartext Credential Found in ICS Device Firmware

Industrial control systems are rife with security issues, not the least of which is the use of hard-coded credentials. In order to minimize downtime, developers and administrators build in passwords to expedite remote troubleshooting in the event of a system crash or failure. Problems arise when ...

Malware Infects Two Power Plants Lacking Basic Security Controls

During the past three months, unnamed malware infected two power plants’ control systems using unprotected USB drives as an attack vector. At both companies, a lack of basic security controls made it much easier for the malicious code to reach critical networks. In one instance, according to a...

DHS Warns ICS, SCADA Owners About Increase in Malicious Activity

An alert from the Department of Homeland Security late last week urges private- and public-sector industrial control system ICS owners to be proactive in auditing the security, particularly, authentication controls of their systems. The alert is in response to a growing concern over the number of...

Researchers Warn of Prison Hacks, Opening Cell Doors

In news that seems like it could be lifted from an old 24 or Prison Break plotline, authorities are concerned by new research that claims hackers could remotely open the cell doors of federal prisons. In addition to staging a jailbreak, hackers could sabotage a prison’s intercom system and...