MrRodgers
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According to a new research report issued by cybersecurity firm Symantec, there is a hacking group capable of disrupting the U.S. power grid.
In fact, a new wave of attacks recently did just that.
The hacking group calls itself Dragonfly. And it's been wreaking havoc on the power grids of Turkey, Switzerland and the U.S.
The group has been in operation since 2011 and has reemerged over the past two years with more frequent attacks.
Dragonfly's attacks are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. And it doesn't have to overcome technical hurdles...
In fact, according to Symantec researchers, there's just one thing keeping Dragonfly from bringing down the entire grid: a lack of motivation.
Like so many other hacker groups, Dragonfly consists of ultra-smart individuals. Many speculate that most of the group is Russian due to the fact that many of the code strings that have been found are in Russian.
However, some of the code is of French origin... but that's likely just a tactic to throw investigators off the scent.
In Dragonfly's most recent attack, it compromised about a dozen utilities around the U.S. At least three of them said the operational side of their grids was hacked.
That means Dragonfly had access to virtually every component of the grid. Generators, switchyards and other key components were at risk.
Utilities have one network for administrative computers and a second one for grid operation. Utilities do their best to isolate the two, but they generally never achieve 100% separation.
All hackers need is a single juncture to hop from one network to the other... and then it's showtime.
Not until two years ago was Dragonfly able to do this. That's when it reemerged in what Symantec now calls the "Dragonfly 2.0" campaign. The group now has more sophisticated tools that make it harder for Symantec and U.S. government organizations to track it.
In 2014, Dragonfly successfully hacked into the administrative side of the power sector.
But the most recent campaign has targeted computer systems that control the grid.
Symantec believes Dragonfly is state-sponsored. The Russians have a long reputation of state-sponsored hacking.
Now that they have access to the grid side of the network, hackers are in the driver's seat.
Our power grids are more vulnerable than they've ever been.
Probably the hottest market since the anti-virus splash...cyber security against hackers getting in.
Look at what happened to Sony a few years back (Sony costs...$170 Million, $3.1B Total Loss for 2011 for Sony Entertainment) and just now, Equifax. And some analyst say now that there two types of networks.
.....those networks that operators know have been hacked.
.....and those that have been hacked but operators don't know it yet.
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You can be a murderous tyrant and the world will remember you fondly but fuck one horse and you will be a horse fucker for all eternity. Catherine the Great
Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.
J K Galbraith
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Hacking from Russia...or anybody. - 
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