Hacker inside (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Hackers have already unleashed World War III in World of Warcraft, killing the avatars of thousands of innocent gamers. Is the real world next?
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta thinks so. In a speech Thursday night he declared that the United States is at risk of a "cyber Pearl Harbor" — a surprise attack on energy infrastructure that could cause widespread blackouts, cripple power plants, knock out the transmission grid, and even kill people. Malicious software infecting the computers of electric utilities could cause turbines at power plants to spin out of control, potentially destroying them.
The former head of the CIA said that he considers this a "pre-9/11? moment when it comes to cyber security. "We know of specific instances where intruders have successfully gained access to these control systems" inside chemical, electricity and water plants, said Panetta. "We also know they are seeking to create advanced tools to attack those systems and cause panic, destruction, even loss of life."
Attacks have been happening with regularity, revealing material weaknesses in the networks of the world's biggest companies.
In early 2011 a handful of megacorps were hacked and some files stolen, reportedly including oil giants ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil. At the time security firm McAfee said the attacks came from China, and though "not sophisticated … were very successful in achieving their goals."
Back in May, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that there had been a series of attacks on the computer networks of natural gas pipeline companies.
In July, according a report in The Energy Daily, hackers broke into the system monitoring smart meters at a Puerto Rico utility and rolled back consumption readings.
Two weeks ago Telvent, a Canadian maker of software systesm for oil and gas pipelines, revealed that hackers had broken into its network and accessed its customers' project files. The Telvent attack is said to be the work of Chinese hackers. This has become an especially sensitive issue given that Chinese oil giant Cnooc is seeking government clearance for its $19 billion acquisition of Nexen.
And just earlier this week, a congressional committee released a report urging American companies not to do business with Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE out of fear Beijing could use their networks to spy on U.S. citizens. Huawei responded that it would never cooperate with state-sponsored espionage.
No corporate attacks so far appear to have been as big as the one on Saudi Aramco. In recent months more than 30,000 computers at the world's biggest oil company were completely knocked out of commission by a cyber virus called Shamoon. Some of those computers were in the United States. The virus replaced operating files with an image of a burning American flag. Aramco still has not recovered from Shamoon, which thankfully is not thought to have affected oilfield operations.
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