Malware that attacks industrial control systems (ICS), such as the Stuxnet campaign in 2010, is a serious threat. This class of cyber sabotage can spy on, disrupt, or destroy systems that manage large-scale industrial processes. An essential danger in this threat is that it moves from mere digital damage to risking human lives. In this post we will review the history of ICS malware, briefly examine how one ICS framework operates, and offer our advice on how to fight such threats.
ICS malware is usually sophisticated, requiring time to research its targets and sufficient resources. Attackers can be motivated by financial gain, hacktivism, or espionage, as well as for political ends, as we saw with Stuxnet. Since Stuxnet, researchers have discovered several industrial attacks; each year we seem to read about a worse threat than before.
In August 2017, a sophisticated malware targeted petrochemical facilities in the Middle East. The malware—dubbed Triton, Trisis, or HatMan—attacked safety instrumented systems (SIS), a critical component that has been designed to protect human life. The system targeted in that case was the Schneider Triconex SIS. The initial vector of infection is still unknown, but it was likely a phishing attack.
