U.S. Probing Cyber Attacks On Gas Pipelines

[Purveyor]

Source: Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON — A series of cyber attacks has been targeting US natural gas pipeline operators, officials acknowledged Tuesday, raising concerns among security experts about vulnerabilities in key infrastructure.

The Department of Homeland Security “has been working since March 2012 with critical infrastructure owners and operators in the oil and natural gas sector to address a series of cyber intrusions targeting natural gas pipeline companies,” DHS spokesman Peter Boogaard said in an email to AFP.

He said the attack “involves sophisticated spear-phishing activities targeting personnel within the private companies” and added that the FBI and other federal agencies are assisting in the probe.

Spear-phishing is a technique used to target a specific company or organization by sending fake emails designed to get employees to divulge passwords or other security information.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/08/u-s-probing-cyber-attacks-on-gas-pipelines/

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Homeland Security , Pipeline Company , FBI

Are we profiting or just paying?

[FailureToCommunicate]

2. “the attack could have other affects including driving up the price of natural gas dramatically..."

Only since March 2011???

"Kapil Raina of the security firm Zscaler said the biggest fear “would be a coordinated attack on several facilities that would trigger automatic responses at other facilities, potentially causing a chained effect — similar to an electrical blackout but with more severe consequences.”

Because natural gas prices are low, he said, “the attack could have other affects including driving up the price of natural gas dramatically and creating financial market turmoil.”

The news of the attacks comes with the US experiencing a natural gas boom thanks to expanded use of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” which can unlock shale gas from deposits that had previously been inaccessible.

[Purveyor]

4. I've been hearing gumblings on the cheap price of natural gas. Hmmmmm... Just saying. eom

[Xipe Totec]

3. It wouldn't be my old pipeline company

Because they ran their own independent microwave link network.

Isolated from the rest of the world.

You'd have to be physically on top of the pipeline between two microwave towers to even try and hack in.

The control center was a nuke proof bunker, and the power source was the gas stream itself.

That puppy was set up so that, in case of a nuclear attack, we could continue delivering natural gas to the burning ruins of New York.

[jp11]

5. I don't understand why so many facilities, nuclear, telephone, etc

are all so 'connected' to the outside world. Certain things like the power plants, etc shouldn't be open to the world.

Obviously certain parts of companies or facilities need to connect to the outside world but I don't get why their important or 'mission critical' systems are or seem to be open to the world to hack. Seems like pure laziness and stupidity to have these things all so connected.

[magic59]

6. Mother nature will do a much better job

When the New Madrid fault lets go it will disrupt much of the gas lines supplying the north and east. Mother nature doesn't care if we have a fascist government or not, she just does her thing.

[orpupilofnature57]

7. Or just another reason to Usurp ,services