Ezine 200 - Scary Stuxnet Hacking Story

Scary Stuxnet Hacking Story

How bad is this Stuxnet computer attack? I don't know. But it made realize that if there is a really serious hack of core services there will be no warning.

No matter how good the fortifications, the locks or the security systems, history teaches us that from that gift horse at Troy in 1184 BC, to Kevin Mitnick in the 21st century, the invaders always find a way to breach the defences. That's what scares me the most.

This Stuxnet attack targets Siemens Simatic PLC boards, which monitor external factors such as temperature. If the Simatic board was in a food factory, the hacker could gain control, cause a malfunction, and demand a ransom. That would not cause me to lose sleep, but what if the hacker took over a Nuclear Power Plant? Surely, they don't use these Siemens boards? Well they do, and that's what is so scary.

To understand just how clever, brazen, and chilling this computer attack could be I suggest you read the main Stuxnet article, which Paul de Brino has kindly researched.

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Stuxnet Update

Some indication of the seriousness of the new type of threat presented by Stuxnet is the number of articles in national daily papers, and in Sunday supplements. The feeling is that rather than being a one off, Stuxnet could be the start of a new category of malware.

Stuxnet

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Tired of writing scripts? The User Management Resource Administrator solution by Tools4ever offers an alternative to time-consuming manual processes.

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Will and Guy's Humour

In view of the seriousness of this topic, we are not providing any jokes this week.

Lots of useful utilities

• E 200 Stuxnet • Metro UI • Review of Real-time Bandwidth Monitor • Windows 8 Remote Desktop

• E 199 Apps • E 197 iPad • E 188 Toast • E 183 Utilities • E 182 Ripper • E 178 LoJack

• E 165 Nifty Utilities • E 125 Nifty Tools • E 106 Tips • E 99 Tips • Virtualization Manager • Ezines

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Guy Recommends: WMI Monitor and It's Free!

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is one of the hidden treasures of Microsoft operating systems.

Fortunately, SolarWinds have created the Free WMI Monitor so that you can actually see and understand these gems of operating system information. Take the guess work out of which WMI counters to use for scripts.

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