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Russian hackers hit US water treatment systems by remotely destroying pump
Washington: Russian cyber criminals destroyed a pump used to supply water to thousands of homes in Illinois, United States, by remotely turning it on and off quickly.
The incident, which took place on November 8, sets a worrying precedent for security officials, particularly after another hacker has since claimed to have taken control of a second US facility.According to Joe Weiss, who advises utilities on how to protect themselves against hackers, the attack, which is being investigated by the FBI and the US Department For Homeland Security (DHS), has been traced to a computer in Russia, the Daily Mail reports.
The hack first came to light after Weiss, of Applied Control Solutions, posted on his blog quotations taken from a report by the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center.
These were taken during a hack on a US company that makes Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software, which is used around the world to control machines in critical industrial facilities.
Weiss claimed the report said 'glitches' in the remote access system for the pump had been notices for months before the pump was destroyed.
"No one realised the hackers were in there until they started turning on and off the pump," the paper quoted Weiss, as saying.
Peter Boogaard, A spokesman for the DHS, said it was gathering facts about the incident.
"At this time there is no credible corroborated data that indicates a risk to critical infrastructure entities or a threat to public safety," he said.
The report said hackers obtained access using stolen login names and passwords.
Washington: Russian cyber criminals destroyed a pump used to supply water to thousands of homes in Illinois, United States, by remotely turning it on and off quickly.
The incident, which took place on November 8, sets a worrying precedent for security officials, particularly after another hacker has since claimed to have taken control of a second US facility.According to Joe Weiss, who advises utilities on how to protect themselves against hackers, the attack, which is being investigated by the FBI and the US Department For Homeland Security (DHS), has been traced to a computer in Russia, the Daily Mail reports.
The hack first came to light after Weiss, of Applied Control Solutions, posted on his blog quotations taken from a report by the Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center.
These were taken during a hack on a US company that makes Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software, which is used around the world to control machines in critical industrial facilities.
Weiss claimed the report said 'glitches' in the remote access system for the pump had been notices for months before the pump was destroyed.
"No one realised the hackers were in there until they started turning on and off the pump," the paper quoted Weiss, as saying.
Peter Boogaard, A spokesman for the DHS, said it was gathering facts about the incident.
"At this time there is no credible corroborated data that indicates a risk to critical infrastructure entities or a threat to public safety," he said.
The report said hackers obtained access using stolen login names and passwords.
