A video released by the Idaho National Laboratory shows the possible result of hackers attacking industrial electrical turbines, an effort to warn policy makers of the risks facing the U.S. electrical grid.The video shows hackers triggering commands that cause the turbine to violently shake, causing pieces to fly off and smoke to come out, eventually shutting down power. The test was conducted in the spring by researchers looking for vulnerability in supervisory control and data acquisition systems. Although the flaw has already been fixed, researchers hope that the video will help officials realise the need for upgraded security.
The Department of Homeland Security is working with the industry to improve security, but security experts acknowledge that the electrical and nuclear power infrastructure was designed using old technology that did not consider security a large concern.
The video can be found on You Tube at:
SCADA vulnerability was recently discussed in the “IT Security Future” session by delegates attending the Security Management Stage 3 Course.
