Critical Infrastructure Protection


Today’s interdependent and interconnected world requires joint efforts and holistic approaches to protect critical infrastructure assets from the growing number of attacks and to address ever-evolving cyber threats to government, energy, healthcare, education, banking, transportation, telecommunication and other critical sectors.

With a dedicated section focusing on Critical Infrastructure protection, we aim to enhance cooperation and engage security professionals through news, articles and in-depth analysis of emerging threats and technologies.


NEWS

  • Poking the Bear: Three-Year Campaign Targets Russian Critical Infrastructure

    December 11, 2018

    Nation-state conflict has come to dominate many of the policy discussions and much of the strategic thinking about cybersecurity. When events of geopolitical significance hit the papers, researchers look for parallel signs of sub rosa cyber activity carried out by state-sponsored threat actors—espionage, sabotage, coercion, information operations—to complete the picture. After all, behind every story may lurk ...

  • Mattis establishes DOD task force to protect critical tech, information

    November 1, 2018

    Secretary of Defense James Mattis has established a task force whose sole purpose is to better secure the Department of Defense’s important technology and information. Mattis issued a memo dated Oct. 24 creating the Protecting Critical Technology Task Force (PCTTF) to report to the deputy secretary of Defense and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “Working with our partners ...

  • Utilities, Energy Sector Attacked Mainly Via IT, Not ICS

    November 1, 2018

    Stealing administrative credentials to carry out months-long spy campaigns is a top threat. While industrial control systems (ICS) are the most talked-about when it comes to cyberattacks against energy and utilities firms, most attacks actually take aim at the enterprise IT networks used by these organizations, rather than critical infrastructure itself. The Vectra 2018 Spotlight Report on Energy and ...

  • New Stuxnet Variant Allegedly Struck Iran

    October 31, 2018

    A malware similar in nature to Stuxnet but more aggressive and sophisticated allegedly hit the infrastructure and strategic networks in Iran. Details about the supposed new attack are superficial at the moment, as there are no details about the supposed attack, the damage it caused or its targets. A report on Wednesday from Israeli evening news bulletin ...

  • Critical Infrastructure & Supply Chain Remain Highly Vulnerable to Attacks

    October 24, 2018

    This week, the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) reminds us that, “our day-to-day life depends on the country’s 16 sectors of critical infrastructure, which supply food, water, financial services, public health, communications and power along with other networks and systems. A disruption to this system, which is operated via the internet, can have significant and even catastrophic ...

  • In County Crippled by Hurricane, Water Utility Targeted in Ransomware Attack

    October 15, 2018

    The Emotet Trojan is behind a crippling ransomware attack that hit the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority. A “critical water utility” has been targeted in a recent ransomware attack, significantly impeding its ability to provide service in the week after Hurricane Florence hit the East Coast of the U.S. The Onslow Water and Sewer Authority (ONWASA) said ...

  • Critical infrastructure will have to operate if there’s malware on it or not

    September 16, 2018

    As threats and cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure are expected to intensify in the near future, cyber-security experts believe that companies and government agencies should be prepared to operate networks even if there’s malware or a threat actor on the network or not. The idea is that cyber-attacks should not cause downtime of any form, and networks should be designed in a way ...

  • OilRig APT Continues Its Ongoing Malware Evolution

    September 13, 2018

    The Iran-linked APT appears to be in a state of continuous tool development, analogous to the DevOps efforts seen in the legitimate software world. OilRig, an APT group believed to have ties to Iran, has been spotted in yet another campaign in the Middle East – this time targeting victims within an undisclosed government using an ...

  • Russian domestic security service launch new dedicated center to counter cyberattacks

    September 11, 2018

    Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, now has a separate coordination center created in order to prevent, detect and counter cyberattacks on critical infrastructure facilities as well as repair damage from such attacks. The new agency is officially titled ‘National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents’ and it will be headed by Andrey Ivashko who is also ...