Crims shut off Ukraine power in wide-ranging anniversary hacks

[FarCenter]

Hackers of unknown origin cut power supplies in Ukraine for a second time in 12 months as part of wide-ranging attacks that hit the country in December.

The attacks were revealed at the S4x17 conference in Miami in which Honeywell security researcher Marina Krotofil offered reporters some detail into the exploitation that began 16 December and raged for four days.

She told Dark Reading attackers triggered an hour-long power black out at midnight 17 December by infecting the Pivnichna remote power transmission facility, knocking out remote terminal units and the connected circuit breakers.

Further attacks against the State Administration of Railway Transport left Ukrainians unable to purchase rail tickets and delayed payments when the Treasury and Pension Fund was compromised.

It was the second network-centric attack to knock out power supply in Ukraine. Attackers of suspected Russian origin targeted facilities in December 2015.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/01/12/ukraine_power_outtage_hack/

[WhiteTara]

1. A foreshadowing of what is to come here?

[uponit7771]

7. Yes, US systems don't take care of the low hanging fruit when it comes to security because that's

... not their main business.

Now we have a predator country fucking with everything, we could use a good security push in this country to at least stop the phising emails but I really doubt if MiniPoot is going to call for that push.

[FarCenter]

10. A good step would be for BGP to advertise only networks intended for international access

Just like network 10.0.0.0 is not reachable over an ISP route, but can be used within a corporation's network, there should be ranges of IP addresses that are only reachable from other addresses within the US.

With IPv6 there should be plenty of addresses for allocation this way.

[uponit7771]

11. So true, that would be part of the low hanging fruit the federal government can fund so we

... have a baseline level of security across the nation.

[NightWatcher]

9. If we get too loud and rambunctious and it's necessary for "security's sake".

Every fascist pulls the "security card" and cracks down. We haven't even seen a hint of that side of trump yet, can't wait.

[LittleBlue]

12. If they try it here, we can hurt them

We developed Stuxnet, a virus infinitely more complicated and damaging than any hack Russia has pulled off thus far.

[mainer]

2. Practice run for Poland, Lithuania, and every eastern European country

who stands in opposition to Russia.

[2naSalit]

3. This is why

committing everything to computers is foolish at best.

[malaise]

4. Is that true?

There are serious weather related problems in freezing Europe

[FarCenter]

5. It appears to be true, but coping with meager and intermittent electricity and gas is necessary

for some large percentage of the Ukraine population. Life expectancy declined after 1990 in Ukraine, tho not so much as in Russia.

Security firm iSight Partners claimed Monday that it has obtained malicious code used to execute a temporary takedown of three power substations on the Ukrainian national grid, according to Ars Technica. Hundreds of thousands of homes in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of the country were left without electricity as a result of the attack on December 23.

https://www.cnet.com/news/cyberattack-causes-widespread-power-blackout-in-ukraine/

Ivano-Frankivsk is in the western part of Ukraine. It was part of Austria-Hungary until WW I, then part of Poland until Stalin move the border.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivano-Frankivsk

[Takket]

6. This iswhy we can't get the hacking be swept under the rug

[uponit7771]

8. THIS SO MUCH reminds me of the New version of Battle Star Galactica where all the digital assets...

... were all compromised and there were traitors among them selling them out