Showing posts with label cyber attacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cyber attacks. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

ISIS Sends Cyber-Attacks Against US Power Grid - BIN

An ISIS insurgent seen walking with the terror group's flag.



An ISIS insurgent seen walking with the terror group’s flag.


ISIS Sends Cyber-Attacks Against US Power Grid


“You, O Lord, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.” (Psalms 12:7)
On Wednesday, US law enforcement officials revealed a series of cyber attacks in which ISIS attempted to sabotage the American electrical system. The disclosure was given at a conference of American energy firms which were meeting about national security concerns.
Caitlin Durkovich, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at the Department of Homeland Security, warned company executives that “ISIS is beginning to perpetrate cyber attacks.”
According to investigators, who would not reveal specifics, the attacks by the Islamic State have been unsuccessful. The reason given for this was that the systems which cyberterrorists are currently using are not the most sophisticated hacking tools on the market.
John Riggi, a section chief at the FBI’s cyber division, called this a situation of “strong intent, but  thankfully, low capability.” However, Riggi said, he worries that this will not always be the case, adding, “The concern is that they’ll buy that capability.”
Hacking software is already available in most countries on the black markets, and various mafias have already made use of this technology to break into companies and steal large databases of information which they then sell to fraudsters.
Read "Catch the Jew" - A True Laugh Out Loud Look Inside Israel
Currently the FBI’s most immediate worry is that the Islamic State or one of its supporters will buy malicious software which can sneak into computers and destroy electronics, causing a loss of data, or, in a worst-case scenario, an economic crisis. Such an attack on power companies’ software or systems could in theory disrupt the flow of energy to a portion of US homes and businesses.
Riggi added that the US electrical system as a whole isn’t likely to go down from just one attack, saying that it would take a large and expensive team of highly technical spies to understand the layout of computers and machines at an energy company. Following that, it would take “stellar hackers” to sneak into the system and sabotage it.
According to Riggi, “The likelihood of a hack taking out the entire US energy grid – or even a section of it – is extremely low. The grid isn’t as uniform and connected as people might believe. Currently, it’s a chaotic patchwork of ‘grids’, each with different types of machines and software that don’t smoothly coordinate or communicate with each other.”
Mark Lemery, a critical infrastructure protection coordinator who helps coordinate defenses against attacks in Utah, said at the conference, “There’s an equal threat from domestic terrorists and hate groups as well as those from abroad. They’d love to do damage, but they just don’t have the capability.” He added, “Terrorists have not gotten to the point where they’re causing physical damage.” The danger remains, however, that rogue agencies could develop or purchase the technology to cause harm.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/51687/homeland-security-reveals-isis-attempted-to-sabotage-power-grid-through-cyber-attacks-terror-watch/#euHQkUZjRoWt07lh.99

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Meet the Israeli Hackers Who Are Striking Back - ISRAEL TODAY

Meet the Israeli Hackers Who Are Striking Back

Wednesday, April 09, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  
Israel this week has faced a heavier than usual amount of cyber-attacks, but local hackers are doing their bit to fight back. And you can follow their progress in near-real time thanks to the magic of Twitter.
Israel on average defends against tens of thousands of cyber attacks every day. But international hacker group Anonymous, or a branch thereof, sought to truly overwhelm the Jewish state this week with its annual #OpIsrael campaign, during which anti-Israel hackers seek to crash or penetrate Israeli websites and networks.
Their success had thus far been extremely minimal, with only a handful of websites suffering limited downtime or being temporarily defaced with anti-Israel content.
The Israeli hackers who have been fighting back, on the other hand, have had far more impressive results. In addition to crashing and defacing numerous anti-Israel or radical Islamist websites, including the official #OpIsrael website, the Israeli group known as Israeli Elite Force actually broke into the personal computers of many of their anti-Israel foes.
An Israeli Elite Force hacker calling himself Buddhax published a document including the names, email addresses and various online login information of several of the Anonymous-affiliated hackers. Buddhax even managed to snap mugshots of some of the anti-Israel hackers using their own webcams.
Buddhax and the Israeli Elite Force said they hope that by demonstrating the relative ease with which they can expose the anti-Israel hackers, the latter will “think twice next time before they try to attack Israel.”
Another senior Israeli hacker told the online news website “0404” that the Israeli side “didn’t need to make any special preparations,” noting that “Anonymous Palestine” is simply not a serious threat.
The anti-Israel hackers “are good at talking and small hacks, but we aren’t dealing here with the global Anonymous,” said the Israeli, explaining that “Anonymous Palestine” is primarily made up of small groups of Arab and other anti-Israel hackers who unilaterally decided to use the name “Anonymous.”
The Israeli hacker said that the response from the Israeli side was very minimal. “We carried out some small operations that hit the Arab world, websites and some online accounts, but this was not an official Israeli response. It was just child’s play.” The hacker continued: “It is really not recommended that they [Anonymous Palestine] mess with Israel, and they know this well.”
Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY.