Search the Community
Showing results for tags '`dfighter news'.
Found 2 results
-
Power firms around the world are being warned about how to spot if they are being targeted by hackers who shut down parts of Ukraine's electricity grid. The warnings have emerged from analysis of the malware used in an attack in Ukraine in December. That left about 230,000 people without power for hours after substations were shut down via implanted malware. The move comes as researchers at Black Hat and Def Con reveal ways power firms are lax on security. Immediate risk"Power grid operators need to be aware that these styles of events are out there and they need to prepare for them," said Robert M Lee of Dragos Security during a talk at the Black Hat show which detailed its work to analyse the malware used in the Ukraine attack. Ukraine suffered two attacks on its network - one in March 2015 and another in late 2016. The warnings detail the text and code combinations used by the attackers as they infiltrated networks and started the process of shutting down key parts of the grid. The information should help power firms scan internal systems for tell-tale signs of intrusion and prepare other defences so they can spot reconnaissance. Additional information provided by Dragos and security firm Eset also sets out some other ways the malware seen in the Ukraine attack could be deployed. "All of the functionality exhibited in the malware was not seen in the Ukraine attack," said Mr Lee. "They built more functions in it than they needed." Image copyrightZHENGZAISHURUImage captionInformation about attacks on power networks are being shared widelyMr Lee stressed that there was little evidence that the hackers behind the Ukraine attack were taking aim at other power networks. However, he said, the tradecraft and techniques the group developed while preparing and executing their plan could easily be transferred to grid operators in other nations. Power generation firms and grid operators in Europe, Asia and the Middle East were "immediately" at risk from the type of attack seen in Ukraine, he said. US power firms were safer, he added, because they generally used different hardware. He also criticised governments for not doing enough to raise awareness about the seriousness of the events in Ukraine. "No senior policy makers in any government has come out and condemned the Ukraine attack," he said. "That's done nothing but embolden the attackers and that's a worrying trend." Power plansThe Black Hat and Def Con shows saw other security researchers share information about work to catalogue ways that the power network could be attacked. Security researcher Harrys Konstantinou and colleagues at New York University led a project to find out how easy it was to build up a detailed picture of the make-up of power networks in the US. The three-person team drew on information in press releases, regulatory filings, grid maps, case studies and blackout reports to build a detailed model of sections of the US power transmission system. They also drew on freely available software tools that let them map power flows and test out what would happen if different parts of the network were turned off. To make their model and attack planning more accurate they also bought sub-station control equipment from auction site eBay. "There exists a wealth of information out there that can accurately model the grid and enable a widespread attack," said Mr Konstantinou. He added that as a result of their work some information about the layout of the US power grid has been removed from the net and some hardware makers are moving to harden their devices against attack. Image copyrightPAImage captionThe growing use of renewable power might mean more attention from hackers, warn security expertsIt is not just long-established elements of power grids that are vulnerable to attack. In another talk at Def Con Dr Jason Staggs from the University of Tulsa presented work he had done on the security of wind farm networks and turbines. "The increased reliance on renewable energy sources will draw attention from attackers for all kinds of reasons," he said. He added that his work revealed weaknesses in the hardware used to manage wind farms and in the software that allows them to be managed remotely. In many cases, he said, it was "trivial" to get access to the control consoles and management systems used to keep turbine blades spinning. Poor internal controls meant an attacker that got physical access to one turbine tower could inject software and infiltrate an entire network of wind farms, he said. "These networks are extremely susceptible to attack," he said. If an attacker triggered turbines to shut down it could cause real harm to their drives, brakes and blades. An hour of downtime on a relatively small wind farm would cost a power firm up to $30,000 (£23.250) for every turbine that stopped turning, he said. He urged operators of wind farms to take security more seriously and put in place measures and controls that limit the impact of any intrusion into the control systems. Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40766757
-
Facebook has broadened its campaign to raise awareness about fake news, by publishing adverts in the UK press. The ads, in papers including The Times, The Guardian and Daily Telegraph, carry a list of 10 things to look out for when deciding if a story is genuine. They include checking the article date and website address, as well as making sure it isn't intended as satire. Facebook is under fresh political pressure to tackle fake news in the run up to the UK general election. Meanwhile, a BBC Panorama investigation to be broadcast later on Monday has found the social network played a decisive role in both the US election and Britain's EU referendum last year. 'Danger' The platform said it had already removed "tens of thousands" of fake Facebook accounts and that systems were now monitoring the repeated posting of the same content or a sharp increase in messaging. Accounts displaying this activity are then flagged, it added. Facebook is also decreasing the ranking of stories that people tend to read but not share. Last month Conservative MP Damian Collins asked Facebook to tackle fake news in the run up to the UK general election on 8 June. "The danger is, if for many people the main source of news is Facebook and if the news they get on Facebook is mostly fake news, they could be voting based on lies," he told the Guardian. Fake accounts In a report released last month, Facebook admitted it had seen political propaganda deliberately spread on its site. "We have observed many actions by fake account operators that could only be performed by people with language skills and a basic knowledge of the political situation in the target countries, suggesting a higher level of coordination and forethought," it said in the document. It added that "several" cases during the 2016 US Presidential election had required action. Facebook, fake news & the UK election How to spot 'fake news' 'Fake news city' "People want to see accurate information on Facebook and so do we," said Simon Milner, Facebook's UK director of policy "To help people spot false news we are showing tips to everyone on Facebook on how to identify if something they see is false." He added that the firm was "supporting" two third-party fact checkers - Full Fact and First Draft - in the run up to the election but Facebook declined to say whether this is a financial arrangement. Facebook's ten steps for spotting fake news Be sceptical of headlines Look closely at the URL [web address] Investigate the source Watch for unusual formatting Consider the photos Check the date Check the evidence Look at other reports Is the story a joke? Some stories are intentionally false [satirical] When word-of-mouth plays into the hands of scammers: Analysis by Zoe Kleinman, BBC Technology Reporter The spread of fake news across social media was accused by some of influencing the US presidential election in 2016. Facebook has not gone so far as to accept that but its latest report acknowledges that there was some activity which "required action". With the UK election just a month away today there is added pressure to crack down on it in Britain. The creators of fake news make money because of the clicks on the ads they carry. Google and Facebook say they are committed to blocking them from using ad services but they are still popping up. It's interesting and perhaps a sign of Facebook's older membership that it has chosen traditional print media to help spread its message in the UK. The ten tips are sound advice and will be well-known to journalists already as standard checks. The difficulty is that if the link pops up in your Facebook news feed because it's been shared by one of your friends or relatives, you're likely to be more inclined to accept it at face value. The power of word-of-mouth as a marketing tool is well known to both marketing professionals and scammers alike. Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39840803
