Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
eWEEK.com
Search
eWEEK.com
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    Industroyer Cyber-Attack Revealed as Cause of Ukraine Power Outage

    By
    SEAN MICHAEL KERNER
    -
    June 12, 2017
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Industroyer

      In December 2016, the city of Kiev in the Ukraine was hit by a massive power outage that left citizens literally out in the cold. New research released today suggests that the power outage was anything but an accident and instead was a directed cyber-attack.

      Security researchers at ESET are claiming credit for discovering the malware behind the attack and have dubbed it Industroyer. ESET shared its research with security firm Dragos, which refers to the attack as CrashOverride.

      “We did not co-cooperate with other AV [antivirus] vendors on the research, and this is an ESET discovery in terms of the deep technical analysis on capabilities of the threat,” Robert Lipovsky, senior malware researcher at ESET, told eWEEK. “After having finished our analysis and written report, we shared it with other researchers, including Dragos, as is common in the industry.”

      Regardless of whether the attack is called Industroyer or CrashOverride, the impact and the risk are the same. Industroyer can directly attack electricity substations, switches and circuit breakers. The attack, according to Lipovsky, does not make use of any new zero-day vulnerabilities or unpatched Microsoft vulnerabilities.

      “Therein also lies the danger,” he said. “[Industroyer] simply is able to communicate with industrial hardware through communication protocols designed decades ago without security in mind.”

      At this stage, it’s not clear how Industroyer was able to infect the Ukrainian power grid. And the December 2016 attack was not the first such attack on the Ukrainian power grid either. In December 2015, an attack dubbed BlackEnergy caused a blackout in Ukraine that affected approximately 225,000 people.

      “Based on previous experiences, including the attacks on the Ukrainian power grid in 2015 using the BlackEnergy malware, possible infection vectors include spear-phishing emails, manual installation—insider job—or others,” Lipovsky said.

      Security vendor Dragos noted that it confirmed much of ESET’s analysis and was able to link the actions with other samples that are associated with a hacker group it refers to as ELECTRUM. There has been some speculation that the December 2016 attack against the Ukraine power grid was done by Russia state-sponsored attackers.

      “We have never claimed that they’re associated with the Russian government, and anyone that does so is speculating, as there were no indications inside the code that could point to an attacker, Russian or otherwise,” Lipovsky said.” Attribution is always tricky in cyber-attacks, and we always refrain from speculations, even more so when it comes to sensitive geopolitical issues.”

      While attribution for Industroyer is difficult, it is being compared to the Stuxnet malware attack that hit an Iranian power plant in 2010.

      “I wouldn’t say [Industroyer is] more dangerous that Stuxnet,” Lipovsky said. “It’s comparable to Stuxnet in being able to communicate directly to industrial hardware—Industroyer and Stuxnet are the only pieces malware ever known to have this feature.”

      Defending against an attack like Industroyer requires a multilayer approach. Typical IT security advice applies, which includes network segmentation, properly updated anti-malware, making sure security patches are deployed in a timely manner and all keeping all software up-to-date, Lipovsky said. 

      “The problem is, however, that in industrial environments, fulfilling these recommendations is more tricky than in regular computer networks,” he said.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      CHRIS PREIMESBERGER - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      EWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      ZEUS KERRAVALA - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      WAYNE RASH - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Info

      © 2020 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×