Malware on the Electric Grid

  Jim Finkle wrote a very nice article:

Cybersecurity Firms Uncover Malware That Could Cause Power Outages Around The Globe 

The sub-title is: “This could cause wide-scale damage to infrastructure systems that are vital.”

 Mr. Finkle starts off:

"Two cyber security firms have uncovered malicious software that they believe caused a December 2016 Ukraine power outage, they said on Monday, warning the malware could be easily modified to harm critical infrastructure operations around the globe.

ESET, a Slovakian anti-virus software maker, and Dragos Inc, a U.S. critical-infrastructure security firm, released detailed analyzes of the malware, known as Industroyer or Crash Override, and issued private alerts to governments and infrastructure operators to help them defend against the threat."

 It's interesting that I have had these conversations with friends and they conflate Y2K with grid malware and don't believe it is possible.

What is scary, is how easy it can be to use these malware tools as is stated below:

“The malware is really easy to re-purpose and use against other targets. That is definitely alarming,” said ESET malware researcher Robert Lipovsky said in a telephone interview. “This could cause wide-scale damage to infrastructure systems that are vital.”

The Department of Homeland Security corroborated that warning, saying it was working to better understand the threat posed by Crash Override.

“The tactics, techniques and procedures described as part of the Crash Override malware could be modified to target U.S. critical information networks and systems,” the agency said in an alert posted on its website."