Industry News

Computer security expert Jonathan Pollet warned the crowd at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas that power stations, electricity grids and other major utilities are vulnerable to hackers who could manipulate control mechanisms through the internet, CNET reports.

Small computers that manage simple physical tasks, called programmable logic controllers, are often used in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems that operate industrial machinery. According to CNET, Pollet told a Black Hat audience that PLCs are often connected to the internet, where they are sometimes unprotected by security protocols like passwords.

The news source says Pollet’s colleague Tom Parker performed an internet search and found a PLC webpage that appeared to be actively operating a pump terminal at a water treatment plant. The webpage included the password, 1234, to access the PLC controls.

Pollet said he once discovered an electricity substation that did not require any password to access its SCADA system via the web, reports CNET.

Later this week, computer security consultant John Strauchs will present at the Defcon conference about how PLC hackers could open prison cell doors and release prisoners, according to Wired.