Hackers eyeing to disrupt power grids, electricity and other utilities across US: Dragos
By MYBRANDBOOK
If the latest report on the state of industrial control systems is to be believed, at least three hacking groups have the capability to interfere with or disrupt power grids across the US. It also brings along the fact that the number of cyber-criminal operations targeting electricity and other utilities is on the rise.
Cyber security company Dragos said that political and military tensions in the Gulf appear to coincide with a rise in interest in hacking groups targeting electricity grids, power companies and other systems related to utilities in the US.
"The threat landscape focusing on electric utilities in North America is expansive and increasing, led by numerous intrusions into ICS networks for reconnaissance and research purposes and ICS activity groups demonstrating new interest in the electric sector," warned its North American Electric Cyber Threat Perspective report.
The report notes while the security researchers are tracking seven groups that target electrical facilities in North America, three of them have demonstrated the capability to "infiltrate or disrupt" electrical power networks.
Dragos however has not attributed which nation states or cyber-criminal groups could be behind these attacks, but the company has outlined three operations that show evidence of disruption capabilities: Xenotime, Dymalloy and Electrum.
Xenotime is the hacking group behind the Triton cyber attack that disrupted oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia in 2017. This attack was tailored towards Triconex safety controllers and researchers warn that this incident "represented an escalation of ICS attacks due to its potential catastrophic capabilities and consequences".
Dymalloy is described as a "highly aggressive and capable activity group" with the ability to achieve long-term and persistent access to IT and operational environments for both intelligence-gathering and possible disruption. Victims of the group's hacking campaigns have already been discovered in Turkey, Europe and North America. It's also been suggested that Dymalloy has links to the Dragonfly hacking group.
The third group, Electrum, is also described as "capable of developing malware that can modify electric equipment processes" and ICS protocols. While it mostly focused previous attacks on Ukraine – including causing power outages in winter – it is described as well-resourced and Dragos warn that the group is capable of physically disruptive events.
"North American electric utilities should consider Electrum to be a serious threat," warns the paper.
While there have been some minor improvements in the security of these systems, as the report states but there's still more to be done.
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
Nazara and ONDC set to transform in-game monetization with ‘
Nazara Technologies has teamed up with the Open Network for Digital Comme...
Jio Platforms and NICSI to offer cloud services to government
In a collaborative initiative, the National Informatics Centre Services In...
BSNL awards ₹5,000 Cr Project to RVNL-Led Consortium
A syndicate led by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (abbreviated as RVNL), along wi...
Pinterest tracks users without consent, alleges complaint
A recent complaint alleges that Pinterest, the popular image-sharing platf...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Netflix adds 'Moments' feature for saving, sharing scenes from
Netflix has introduced a new “Moments” feature on its mobile app, whic
Jacqueline Fernandez come together with YouTuber Mr. Beast for
Jacqueline Fernandez has partnered with American YouTuber Mr. Beast to b
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Visa elevates Rishi Chhabra as new Country Manager for India
Rishi holds a Master’s in Industrial Engineering from The Ohio State Univ
Genesys welcomes Albert Nel as Senior VP and Regional Sales Le
Genesys continues to deepen its investment in the APAC region. Earlier this
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
In India, 88% of Indian business leaders are planning to inves
As we move through 2024, it has become increasingly clear that AI is not ju
Acer addresses evolving customer needs by consistently pushing
Acer offers a comprehensive range of products under one roof, including des
HOT PICK
SonicWall Launches TZ80: A Powerful Solution for Remote Office
SonicWall announced today the launch of the TZ80, a groundbreaking securit
Gigabyte X3D Turbo: A Gaming Revolution
GIGABYTE X3D Turbo Mode is a cutting-edge feature that unifies cores distr
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
NETWEB TECHNOLOGIES INDIA LTD.
AMARA RAJA POWER SYSTEMS LTD.
CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF TELEMATICS (C-DOT)
DRUVA SOFTWARE PVT. LTD.
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
Icons Of India : Daisy Chittilapilly
Daisy Chittilapilly is the President of Cisco’s India and SAARC regi...
Icons Of India : Puneet Chandok
Puneet Chandok is President, Microsoft India & South Asia and is respo...
ICONS OF INDIA : RITESH AGARWAL
Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian billionaire entrepreneur and the founder a...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
C-DOT - Center of Development of Telematics
India’s premier research and development center focused on telecommu...
ITI - ITI Limited
ITI Limited is a leading provider of telecommunications equipment, sol...
STPI - Software Technology Parks of India
STPI promotes and facilitates the growth of the IT and ITES industry i...
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Global Indian industry
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - AJAY BANGA, President - World Bank
Ajay Banga is an Indian-born American business executive who currently...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Aman Bhutani, CEO, GoDaddy
Aman Bhutani, the self-taught techie and CEO of GoDaddy, oversees a co...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Sundar Pichai, CEO- Alphabet Inc.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc.,...
STARNITE AWARDS 2024
ITFORUM 2024
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
IMAGE GALLERY
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
