In only the second time in history, a cyber attack resulted in actual damage to a steel mill in Germany at the end of last year. The attack on a steel plant left the factory with huge amounts of damage after hackers to access control systems remote that controlled the blast furnace. The attack meant that the oven can not be stopped properly as piracy leads to physical damage.
The first time a cyber attack physically damaged a target that happened in 07/08 when it was revealed that a joint attack by Israel and the US on Iran, was a uranium enrichment plant. Experts back in 2010, when the attack was revealed, predicted a dangerous step toward greater destruction by cyber attacks.
Industrial systems like the steel plant in Germany, are vulnerable to remote attacks because of the nature of how their systems work. Worryingly, many installations operate like that, including water supply, electricity grids, hospitals and chemical plants are some of the facilities that could be affected by a cleverly executed hackers, potentially affecting entire cities. As technology increased systems, and the capabilities of those seeking to carry out remote attacks, leaving entire cities and countries open to cyber attacks unless these systems are kept offline, physically unable access remotely.
believed the hackers had access to the steel plant through the business network of the company, where they gained more access to real control systems of the plant. Hackers have managed to take full control after sending a phishing attack email. When the employee opened an email supposedly from a reliable source, malware was downloaded and installed in the system, enabling remote control. Further details of the attack are unknown, including how long the hackers had access before the physical damage occurred, or why the attack took place even in the first place.
The implications of this attack are significant, if the pirates have the expertise to hack the control systems such as the steel, so there is no limit to what the systems can be targeted the only safeguard such attacks would completely isolate these Internet control systems, physically removing the systems from any remote access. A firewall, at present the only real protection of companies, is clearly insufficient to prevent hackers.
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