How cyber intelligence companies sound the alarm before hackers invade
This week on Floridaโs Fourth Estate, Ginger Gadsden and Matt Austin talk to a cyber intelligence expert and the CEO of a cyber intelligence company. These companies are the tasked with hunting hackers before the damage is done by sending out a warning beacon and highlighting the vulnerable spots a cyber security company may have missed. Itโs precisely this kind of brazen attempt by hackers Hijazi says, keeps him up at night. AdLuckily for the nearly 16,000 people in Oldsmar, these hackers did not appear to be very sophisticated. AdIt is the job of cyber intelligence companies like Prevailion to make sure this kind of massive hack does not happen by warning big entities when danger is approaching.
Florida hack exposes vulnerability of cash-strapped US water plants
Authorities say a hacker gained access to Oldsmar's water treatment plant in an unsuccessful attempt to taint the water supply with a caustic chemical. A local sheriff's startling announcement Monday that the water supply of Oldsmar, population 15,000, was briefly in jeopardy last week exhibited uncharacteristic transparency. AdโI deal with a lot of municipal water utilities for small, medium and large-sized cities. The nation's 151,000 public water systems lack the financial fortification of the corporate owners of nuclear power plants and electrical utilities. Although such incidents have been relatively few, that does not mean the risk is low and that most water systems are secure.
Hack exposes vulnerability of cash-strapped US water plants
Authorities say a hacker gained access to Oldsmar's water treatment plant in an unsuccessful attempt to taint the water supply with a caustic chemical. A local sheriff's startling announcement Monday that the water supply of Oldsmar, population 15,000, was briefly in jeopardy last week exhibited uncharacteristic transparency. AdโI deal with a lot of municipal water utilities for small, medium and large-sized cities. The nation's 151,000 public water systems lack the financial fortification of the corporate owners of nuclear power plants and electrical utilities. Although such incidents have been relatively few that does not mean the risk is low and that most water systems are secure.
Hacker tried to taint Florida cityโs water with lye, sheriff says
AdExperts say municipal water and other systems have the potential to be easy targets for hackers because local governmentsโ computer infrastructure tends to be underfunded. Robert M. Lee, CEO of Dragos Security, and a specialist in industrial control system vulnerabilities, said remote access to industrial control systems such as those running water treatment plants has become increasingly common. In May, Israelโs cyber chief s aid the country had thwarted a major cyber attack a month earlier against its water systems, an assault widely attributed to its archenemy Iran. But at about 1:30 p.m., someone accessed it again, took control of the mouse, directed it to the software that controls water treatment and increased the amount of sodium hydroxide. AdRussian state-backed hackers have in recent years penetrated some U.S. industrial control systems, including the power grid and manufacturing plants while Iranian hackers were caught seizing control of a suburban New York dam in 2013.
In Florida city, a hacker tried to poison the drinking water
In this screen shot from a YouTube video posted by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri speaks during a news conference as Oldsmar, Fla., Mayor Eric Seidel, left, listens, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021, in Oldsmar, Fla. Authorities say a hacker gained access to Oldsmar's water treatment plant in an unsuccessful attempt to taint the water supply with a caustic chemical. Robert M. Lee, CEO of Dragos Security, and a specialist in industrial control system vulnerabilities, said remote access to industrial control systems such as those running water treatment plants has become increasingly common. AdIn May, Israelโs cyber chief s aid the country had thwarted a major cyber attack a month earlier against its water systems, an assault widely attributed to its archenemy Iran. The FBI, along with the Secret Service and the Pinellas County Sheriffโs Office are investigating the case.