Revealed: new ways to hack critical infrastructure
Cybersecurity researchers next week will demonstrate how hackers can potentially wreak havoc on critical US infrastructure, even causing explosions by altering the readings on wireless sensors used by the oil and gas industry.
The presentations at the Black Hat conference beginning in Las Vegas on Wednesday will show how key industries remain vulnerable to cyber attacks, in part because companies are reluctant to replace expensive equipment or install new safeguards unless ordered to do so by regulators or offered economic incentives, experts say.
"We've got this cancer that is growing inside our critical infrastructure. When are we going to go under the knife instead of letting this fester?" said Patrick C. Miller, founder of the non-profit Energy Sector Security Consortium. "We need to restructure some regulations and incentives." The new research on wireless sensors found flaws in the way they handle encryption, Lucas Apa and Carlos Mario Penagos of security consulting firm IOActive told Reuters.
