Federal officials investigating water utility hacking

US investigates cyber attack on Illinois water system [msnbc.com]

Federal officials have commenced an investigation into reports that a foreign cyber attack was responsible for a water pump in Illinois that was remotely shut down on November 8. If the reports are correct, it would mark the first ever foreign cyber attack on a U.S. industrial or utility system.

According to the initial reports, hackers were able to access the water utility's network in a rural Illinois community. The network was used by the utility to control various industrial systems, and the hackers were apparently able to access the network credentials through the software company used by the utility. It's unclear at this point whether the hackers were able to obtain other data from the software maker or if they are planning other attacks. 

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that there currently was no data indicating a threat to pubic safety or to critical infrastructure. Still, the reported attacks highlight the seriousness of cyber attacks to Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition or "SCADA" systems that control critical infrastructure in the U.S. Many of these systems are reportedly old and vulnerable, making them more susceptible to attack.

Comments

[Howard Aubrey]

According to an article on Wired's website, there was no hack at all.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/water-pump-hack-mystery-solved/

It appears that the owner of the company who installed the system had been asked to log on and look at some data reports. At the time, though, he was on vacation in Russia with his family, so when he did log on, it recorded a Russian IP address. The pump later burned out, but it was a material failure, not related to any hacking, at least according to Wired.

[Jordan 11]

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that there currently was no data indicating a threat to pubic safety or to critical infrastructure.