Cyber Attacks On Critical Infrastructure

Cyberattacks On Critical Infrastructure are a Growing Threat

💻 What are cyber attacks on critical infrastructure?

Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity: The energy "grid" is made up of interconnected critical infrastructure cybersecurity systems that power platforms for power generation, water treatment, electricity production, and other functions. Although this grid is advantageous to the general population, "hacktivists" or terrorists use it to launch cyberattacks.

💻 Why make securing critical infrastructure a priority?

Security: A ransomware gang recently infiltrated a water company, and critical infrastructure providers must learn from this to avoid potentially catastrophic consequences.

Cyberattacks don't simply harm the virtual world; they can also have unsettling real-world repercussions for everyone, as shown by a recent instance that seems to have been narrowly avoided.

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South Staffordshire Water, which provides drinking water to more than 1.6 million people in the UK, has been the victim of what it described as a 'criminal cyberattack' which disrupted the IT networks of the business.

💻 Potential danger to the water supply

Clop also claimed that, despite having access to the network, the hackers did not encrypt any data, saying they "do not attack critical infrastructure". Nevertheless, the hackers said they stole more than 5TB of data and attempted to extort a ransom in exchange for their non-disclosure.

It is not yet clear how the situation was resolved, but the attack raises a worrying question: what would have happened if cybercriminals had managed to encrypt the networks that control the water supply?

For starters, now is a particularly bad time for such a thing to happen: drought has been declared in many parts of the UK after months of heatwaves, and a restriction in the water supply could have worsened the situation.

💻Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability

Then you have to ask yourself what would have happened if the cybercriminals had actually succeeded in altering the chemical balance of the water. In this case, it is unclear whether they would have had the power to do so - but this is not a theoretical form of cyberattack, as hackers have already demonstrated that they can do it.

An infamous case took place at a water treatment plant in Florida last year when an unidentified hacker managed to alter chemical levels in the water supply to the point of making it toxic. . Fortunately, the incident was detected before the contaminated water left the station, but the consequences could have been terrible.

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Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity | Cybercriminals are aware that critical infrastructure is frequently vulnerable to cyberattacks. Just remember last year's Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, an incident that caused panic among people who rushed to gas stations in an attempt to grab gas: another case of cyberattack influencing real actions.

💻 Sometimes outdated networks

These networks can be decades old, and run on older operating systems that can no longer receive security updates, making them prime targets. Additionally, these networks are increasingly connected to IoT devices and sensors, which can also make them vulnerable to attacks.

Pipelines, power grids and water supply systems, transportation, and even hospitals are all critical infrastructure for the proper functioning of the entire system and, therefore, all tempting targets for hackers, whether it's ransomware groups looking to make money or nation-state-backed hacker groups looking to cause disruption.

“We can limit both the likelihood and the impact of these threats by protecting our networks, taking into account their technical structure and the people who have access to them,” says the advice of the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), which warns that an attack could have "a major negative impact on the availability, delivery or integrity of essential services, resulting in serious economic or social consequences or loss of life", in order to protect networks - and people - the consequences of the attacks, which can be significant.

💻 List of recommendations

Many of the recommended security measures are among the most common and often the simplest practices, such as ensuring that default or easy-to-guess passwords are not used to secure networks and that multi-factor authentication (MFA ) is applied, especially to critical systems. For critical infrastructure and other organizations, actions like this can help protect against most attacks.

Cybersecurity can become more complex for critical infrastructure, especially when dealing with older systems, which is why it is vital that those managing them know their own network, what is connected to it, and who is there. access. Taking all of this into consideration, granting access only when needed helps keep networks locked down.

In some cases, this may mean that older systems are not connected to the outside Internet at all, but rather to a separate, secure network, preferably offline. This can make some processes more difficult to manage, but it's better than the alternative in the event of a network intrusion.

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Incidents like the South Staffordshire Water attack and the Florida water incident show that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure. We must act as soon as possible to avoid potentially disastrous consequences not only for organizations but also for people.

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