Stuxnet-Like Malware From Russia Is Attacking U.S/Euro Power Plants

I haven't seen this mentioned on ATS yet,so:
Check this out folks-for the last 18 months,Russia it seems from this source,has been infiltrating utility companies all over Europe and the USA.
Basically from around the time the whole Kiev protests/riots started...
As it says in the below article,"This stuff is scary."

Security researchers confirmed on Monday that a vicious new cyberattack has compromised the computer systems of over 1,000 organizations in 84 countries.
Dubbed "Energetic Bear," the Stuxnet-like malware is largely targeting energy and utility companies. It's almost certainly from Russia.
This is scary stuff.
Not only has the attack been going on for 18 months,it appears to be focused on targets in the United States and Europe.
According to the Financial Times, the malware "allows its operators to monitor energy consumption in real time, or to cripple physical systems such as wind turbines, gas pipelines and power plants at will." This is exactly the type of attack that the government's been (very vocally) worried about lately.

gizmodo.com...


So Putin may have the power to launch an all out cyber systems cripple of energy sytems all over the western world...
Gas,electric,petrol,nuke plants across the west all stop working or go haywire on a keystoke from Yamantau or some place like it.
You know what happens if he decides to do that?

Civilisation disintergrates in less than a week.
Tribal gang anarchy within a couple of months.
Global meltdown and worse in 6 months.

Thats why I place this thread in WW3.
Bad or what?

21st century version of MAD. Don't think we don't have the same thing hooked into our enemies infrastructure. It's a last rageful move that nobody dares activate until they're done with this world. Still many good times left before an elite decides to do that.

a reply to: pl3bscheese
I hope so pl3,I really do.
Everything seems to be going south at the moment though.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

I do agree, but think what we're seeing now can get a bit more freaky before all hell breaks loose.

Don't be the guy who busts his top early. Wait for mother nature to get her release, then mankind can blow their load.

I saw this come through on FB yesterday as well. A good question was asked there, so I'll ask it here. Why is the grid connected to the internet? It seems pretty stupid to me.

The potential for attacks has been a known issue for years. There should have been preparations.

My experience has been people screw around at work and make a perfect vector for attacks. Some of the prep should have been to control that aspect.

a reply to: Wookiep

It's been a number of years since I was in that industry but data for bidding and scheduling power flowed over the internet. But that in itself isn't a problem since it more automated process running through dedicated machines. That is probably not a real threat as a vector. It's more workstations connected that allow general email, etc to flow in.

Remove critical infrastructure from external networks. Problem fixed.

That aside I do have a feeling that Putin wants to destroy the USA more than he wants to screw a super model. In fact, I think it is his planned legacy.

originally posted by: Mamatus
Remove critical infrastructure from external networks. Problem fixed.

That aside I do have a feeling that Putin wants to destroy the USA more than he wants to screw a super model. In fact, I think it is his planned legacy.

OH crap Mamantus-another thread where I sadly agree with you.
I don't want to,but I do.

Like last time-I didn't want to agree with you about the EU/USA supporting the neo nazis to push through the EU agenda in Ukraine.
But you were right then,and I hate to think you may well be right now as well.

This ain't looking too good is it?

a reply to: pl3bscheese

No, not the "last rageful move."
That would be near a primary move in the chess game.
The "last move" would be a touching off of masses of ICBMs in retaliation.

I got money it doesnt matter to our government of it did we would be beating putin until he admited he was in the closet the entire time a reply to: Silcone Synapse

The other problem with separate networks is getting authorized data across, but preventing unauthorized data from getting across. Traditional security methods involve having a red network (Secured, self-contained) and a green network (open to the Internet) and airlock somewhere between the two. But some dufus will always want to get data across the easy way, and they'll use memory sticks, USB bluetooth adapters, wi-fi dongles, their mobile phone memory card to speed things up.

The "Rainbow Series" of books is a classic reference point:

fas.org...

Hey , if truth be known it could be a bit of pay back or at least chest thumping to the crap that was done within Iran's N-program .Someone makes a gun to threaten the other guy and then he builds a bigger one .Why cant we just be creative to advance instead of trying to take down others to maintain some sort of superiority .Is it really all about who is the best at destruction instead of production ? Let the Countries of the world have a race to progress .Then ask if other countries want to join in and follow .

a reply to: stormcell
Indeed,this is a threat-you get some low level worker to pop a usb stick into his company computer,give him a wad of cash for the job,or threaten his family...Bang-virus inserted into company.Thats what these shady types do,but they can just bypass that if they can hack the net.

Having utility systems interconnected as they are is asking for trouble I think.
Almost as though they were designed to be infiltrated-Hmmm.

Remember the Target hacks? I have a thread here called "You’re the Next Victim of the Cyber Wars" that goes over this that leads back to Russia. Here's one of my posts about that.

There seems to be something bigger to this, I suspect that darkpos may have been developed and distributed to the criminal networks by a foreign country that may introduce more hacks to weaken the U.S. financially. The damage gets done and so many scammers are involved that it would not likely point back at the real perps. Blackpos is said to have originated in Russia or specifically the Ukraine. Seems like things have been heating up with Russia and the Ukraine lately hasn't it?

www.abovetopsecret.com...

The financial and identity hacks that have been on going for years are enormous and I can only suspect that this is in concert with other attacks such as the ones in this thread. The rabbit hole is deep with this one, just check out my thread on the financial attacks. Here's another quote from my thread.

Needless to say I’m researching all the hacking going on, and it is truly disturbing. Target and Neiman Marcus are just the ones who admitted what happened, as many as ten to twenty big stores have been hacked and aren’t admitting it yet. It doesn’t stop there, it gets worse. Hacking for sensitive personal information has been going on at major banks, data brokers, government agencies, and the list goes on and on.

originally posted by: the2ofusr1
Hey , if truth be known it could be a bit of pay back or at least chest thumping to the crap that was done within Iran's N-program .Someone makes a gun to threaten the other guy and then he builds a bigger one .Why cant we just be creative to advance instead of trying to take down others to maintain some sort of superiority .Is it really all about who is the best at destruction instead of production ? Let the Countries of the world have a race to progress .Then ask if other countries want to join in and follow .

Heck of a good point the2!
Imagine our space program,disease prevention,food production,environmental sustainable diversity,and our true progress if we were not spending so much of our resourses on working out new ways to destroy.
Imagine how happy we could all be,just like I think we were supposed to be.
Most folks hate war-all decent folks who have experienced it do.

The problem is,war is the mother of invention-Its a catch 22-we evolve our tech through war-the space program,medical progress,sadly even the global economy has been formed so as to make money from wars.

We are a species of inescapable duality it seems.
Capable of so much good,yet twisted into the darkness by power,and at what cost ultimately?

Will we just go on like this as the insects do?
Or progress to a higher state of life?

I wish I knew..

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck
Oh good lord MSB...
You were onto something it looks like.
I hate to think what this could lead to,but like another poster said,we are doing the same to Russia,as a counter move-I still worry though.
This could lead to bad sheeeet indeed IMO.

a reply to: Mamatus

Not quite. If you look into how Stuxnet spread it is believed that it was an Iranian scientist that plugged in a USB. Worms, I believe, do not need to be 'executed' in order to spread - you can just put it in and wham!

External networks are not safe if you get to someone.

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse

originally posted by: Mamatus
Remove critical infrastructure from external networks. Problem fixed.

That aside I do have a feeling that Putin wants to destroy the USA more than he wants to screw a super model. In fact, I think it is his planned legacy.

OH crap Mamantus-another thread where I sadly agree with you.
I don't want to,but I do.

Like last time-I didn't want to agree with you about the EU/USA supporting the neo nazis to push through the EU agenda in Ukraine.
But you were right then,and I hate to think you may well be right now as well.

This ain't looking too good is it?

No it is not looking good. I have had some really scary "inside information" from a director at the Rand Corporation for quite a few years. To date all that I was told was going to happen, has. In relation to Russia, China and the BRICS Nations plans for the USA anyway......

Long and short of it is that those that do not love the USA have been long making plans for our downfall. If you can't beat a bully like the USA in a fair fight you sneak up behind them and hit them with a chair. Hopefully they go down fast and hard and when they wake up do not know who hit them.

I truly feel that Putins legacy is going to be hitting the USA really hard at some point. Funny thing is that it takes so little to make Americans turn against each other. Just look at how we behave when the last XBOX is on the shelf on Black Sunday. Kill off power in major cities for a couple of weeks and we will tear ourselves apart.

originally posted by: george_gaz
a reply to: Mamatus

Not quite. If you look into how Stuxnet spread it is believed that it was an Iranian scientist that plugged in a USB. Worms, I believe, do not need to be 'executed' in order to spread - you can just put it in and wham!

External networks are not safe if you get to someone.

Good point. We would be fools to think our infrastructure has not been infiltrated.