Industrial security

US Data Systems Under Attack

The US government has recently issued a rare public warning about hacking campaigns targeting energy and industrial firms. The Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation warned in a report distributed via email, that the nuclear, energy, aviation, water and critical manufacturing industries have been targeted along with government entities in attacks dating back to at least May. The agencies warned that hackers had succeeded in compromising some targeted networks, but did not identify specific victims or describe any cases of sabotage.

According to alarabiya.net, the goal of the attackers is to compromise organizational networks with malicious emails and tainted websites to obtain credentials for accessing computer networks of their targets. US authorities have been monitoring the activity for months, which they initially detailed in a confidential June report. That document, which was privately distributed to firms at risk of attacks, described a narrow set of activity focusing on the nuclear, energy and critical manufacturing sectors.