Iranian Hackers Claim Cyber Attack on New York Dam

n Iranian hactivist group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that gave it access to the control system for a dam in the suburbs of New York — and intrusion that one official said may be "just the tip of the iceberg."

The group, SOBH Cyber Jihad, sent a message through another Iran-linked hacker outfit, Parastoo, promising that it would release the technical information that proves it was behind the 2013 breach, according to Flashpoint Intelligence.

The hackers claimed they kept quiet about the attack for two years because of a "state-level" warning not to go public with it "for the greater good."

Iranian Hackers Claim Cyber Attack on New York Dam

I think they are going to see that this isn't even anywhere close to the tip of the iceberg....
What say you ATS?

a reply to: ReadLeader

Pretty dam crazy to even imagine things like major utilities being hooked up to the internet in the first place. I know it has advantages, but what in the hell do we expect?

a reply to: ReadLeader

Happy Holidays!
What say you ATS?

I speculate to the effect that we're going to see a whole lot more of this in the future. A boat load, actually.

From what I'm hearing from experts in the field is that the whole "control" systems at these plants and facilities are incredibly vulnerable and easy for the evil to hack into and destroy. There was even a special on the TV about it and they showed how it works at power plants. One utility company set up a stand alone diesel generator on their plant grounds and tried to insulate it entirely from hacker attack. It took some expert hackers about 15 minutes to locate it, hack it and cause the generator and engine to blow up.

Its not a question of "if" but of when and how much damage will accrue.

I say it was probably a soft target, or a target of opportunity.

Still disconcerting, though.

What I'm more interested in is why, if it's true, the hackers were told to stay quiet.

a reply to: DuckforcoveR

Schumer said he is asking Homeland Security to launch a sweeping investigation into how vulnerable critical infrastructure is to attacks through computers and he wants the federal government to work more closely with state and local governments and private companies to beef up Internet security.

The (not so) funny thing is - the hackers claimed they kept quiet for 2 FRIGGIN years; this just shows and tells us ALL how far behind the 8 ball we really are-

It's just insanity to have utility systems on internets. I understand internal networks, but to have them linked to anything else is crazy town. I remember hearing about an electrical grid hack that was accomplished almost entirely through social engineering.

It's only a matter of time.

For extra points, they should have infected all the systems with a modified version of Stuxnet.

I got a huge dose of déjà vu when I read this. I'm not the "I predict things" type, but this does certainly seem like it will get much, much bigger.

Also, like headshot said, why the eff are major functions of these dams and such accessible via interwebs? I know it's probably some "in case of emergency and we can't get to it thing ". But I see it doing more harm than good...

a reply to: Majic

Dude seriously! Stuxnet to Flame, Red October, the Equation Group- I thought by now the saudies and or china would have far surpassed stuxnet and on to a higher level and stronger breaching virus; sit back and watch, the worst is yet to come

Mr Headshot Its only a matter of time

Shamrock6 Text What I'm more interested in is why, if it's true, the hackers were told to stay quiet. this is the question Sham.... why????

TonyS Its not a question of "if" but of when and how much damage will accrue. I could NOT agree more,


It will be very ugly peoples

One of the reasons this type of vulnerability exists, and we are behind the 8-ball is that the demand for security talent in this country far surpasses the supply. It has been predicted the current gap will grow through 2020. Until such time as we get trained people in the chain, that actually meet the stringent hiring criterion, then we will remain vulnerable to such attacks.

a reply to: ReadLeader

So whats this really mean, it was a false flag out of israel?

originally posted by: Shamrock6
I say it was probably a soft target, or a target of opportunity.

Still disconcerting, though.

What I'm more interested in is why, if it's true, the hackers were told to stay quiet.

Likely because at the time Odumbo was negotiating with the Iranians and getting them off the terrorist list...

originally posted by: Shamrock6
What I'm more interested in is why, if it's true, the hackers were told to stay quiet.

Probably so the Iranian government could have a chance to make the most of it before the weaknesses got fixed.

Had a friend quit a gs 14 position as IT system security, to take a much lower paying normal IT job.

Asked him how do you walk away from a 6 figure a year salary, he said easy.. they have no interest in actually spending the money to secure the vital information and I refuse to be a fall guy when it hits the sector I am supposed to be guarding.

Reminds me of a thread from 4 years ago:

Foreign hackers broke into a water plant control system in Illinois last week and damaged a water pump in what may be the first reported case of a malicious cyber attack on a critical computer system in the United States, according to an industry expert.

This type of vulnerability is nothing new.

a reply to: gladtobehere

I'm not sure, but I do know that SOBH Cyber Jihad, has a very limited electronic foot print. The only thing I've been able to find without getting too deep is a few Twitter accounts I'Ll attach a link to the PDF they sent in a bit

a reply to: TonyS

There was even a special on the TV about it and they showed how it works at power plants. One utility company set up a stand alone diesel generator on their plant grounds and tried to insulate it entirely from hacker attack. It took some expert hackers about 15 minutes to locate it, hack it and cause the generator and engine to blow up.

Do you remember when and where you saw that TV special? It would be interesting to see how they were able to hack into its control system so quickly.

-dex

a reply to: DexterRiley

I believe it was the History Channel.....H2 on our system. They had a number of gloom & doom reports a couple of months ago.

Doom Porn......it sells!

a reply to: TonyS

I believe it was the History Channel.....H2 on our system. They had a number of gloom & doom reports a couple of months ago.

Cool, I'll have to see if I can find that. My cable box spends a lot of time on H2 and the Science Channel. Best doom porn that money can buy!

Doom Porn......it sells!

Yes and I admit that I'm hopelessly addicted.


-dex

If it should be secure it shouldn't even be touchable by the net, basic IT security 101...the problem is that support companies want to reduce the effort so they allow things through firewalls etc and quite often shared usernames and passwords as even today its amazing how many bits and bobs have the same username and password as default and not changed even if the paperwork tells you the first thing you do is to change them.