Iran readying hacker attacks on U.S. infrastructure, specialists say

reply to post by fixer1967


I thank the US will cyber attack its self just to help them take the internet from us.

Exactly. And the US will blame the Iranians. On one hand, all this free wheeling talk is getting out of control, and on the other, they want to attack Iran so bad it hurts, so its a twofer: a reason to fling some more bombs at more Muslims and a way to shut us up about it.

reply to post by Daedal


I think this is just another "created" threat that will allow the US to attack Iran.

It seems odd that critical infrastructure should ever be online. I tried to search for reasons why it might be. I found many articles expressing concern about security and potential backdoors, but little info on why they should be connected in the first place. So I can only offer my own conclusion - that it may be necessary, in an emergency, to have remote access.

An article I found,

www.wired.com...

backs up my opinion about emergency access by stating:

"Infrastructure software vendors and critical infrastructure owners have long maintained that industrial control systems (ICSes) — even if rife with security vulnerabilities — are not at risk of penetration by outsiders because they’re “air-gapped” from the internet — that is, they’re not online."

So the 'air-gap' is a natural defence but can be closed if required. It seems reasonable to rely on an air-gap if your certain it's there. And are sure it can easily be switched as required. However, the author of the article then shows how a relatively simple search tool (not google!) was used to reach, basically, the login screens of various infrastructure control systems around the world. Not wishing to actually access these systems, the info was passed to the DHS.

Therefore, without investigating further, it wasn't possible to say just how critical those systems were; they could simply have been controlling something as mundane as the lighting in school corridors. Presumably, accessing the login screens of nuclear reactors is a bit harder.

Also, relying on air-gaps, even when vulnerabilities are known to exist, doesn't help if someone has access to the air-gap and wishes to be disruptive.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by Daedal

 

I'd love to see some actual evidence of these claims. Seems to me they are just continuing to old policy of claim something is happening, provide no proof, and hope the media does the convincing for you.

Kind of lame.

I await a proper report from these people.

~Tenth

The pdf is available at the source link.

gwumc.com

On Thursday, April 26, 2012, HSPI Director Frank J. Cilluffo testified on the cyber threat to U.S. national security posed by the Iranian government and its proxies.

Cilluffo outlined Iranian intent and capabilities, placing them in the context of the Islamic Republic's broader asymmetric strategy against the United States and its allies.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by Daedal

 

I'd love to see some actual evidence of these claims. Seems to me they are just continuing to old policy of claim something is happening, provide no proof, and hope the media does the convincing for you.

Kind of lame.

I await a proper report from these people.

~Tenth

Just a good advice, get used to not have any good evidence for anything these days, there will always be a good chance of hoax on almost anything "they" show us. "Proof" in times of internet, is a misconcept. There is never a way to be 100% sure of anything.