The industrial hack is a well-known trope of the silver screen. In just a few keystrokes, an evil computer whiz with a vague accent gains access to a sensitive system. They press enter, a nuclear power plant explodes—and you reach for another handful of popcorn.
In reality, malicious hackers are breaking into industrial computer networks all the time; they just don’t usually put on a show. These hackers are more into quietly siphoning off sensitive data, or subtly sabotaging an industrial process. It might be months or years before they’re discovered, but they’re there, and their ranks are growing. There were 295 reports to US authorities last year of operational technology and industrial control system (ICS) attacks, according to consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, a 20% increase over the year before. A third of those attacks targeted “critical manufacturing”—facilities that produce steel, construction machinery, or electrical generators, for example. – READ MORE
