Security News > 2011 > April > Anonymous hacker claims he broke into wind turbine systems

Anonymous hacker claims he broke into wind turbine systems
2011-04-18 08:09

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215879/Anonymous_hacker_claims_he_broke_into_wind_turbine_systems By Robert McMillan IDG News Service April 17, 2011 Claiming revenge for an "illegitimate firing," someone has posted screenshots and other data, apparently showing that he was able to break a 200 megawat wind turbine system owned by NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of Florida Power & Light. The data was posted to the Full Disclossure security mailing list Saturday anonymously, by someone using the name "Bgr R." In the post, he (or she) wrote, "Here comes my revenge for illegitimate firing from Florida Power & Light Company... ain't nothing you can do with it, since your electricity is turned off !!!" In an e-mail interview, Bgr R said he's a former employee who discovered a vulnerability in the company's Cisco security management software that he then used to hack into the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems used to control the turbines. His motive was to embarrass the company, he said. "I want people to know about them and how they really work on SCADA security," he said. It's not clear whether or not the posting is a hoax, or if any systems have been affected, but the screen shots of the Wind Turbine management interface looked legitimate, said Wesley McGrew, an industrial systems security researcher with McGrew Security. "My best guess is that it's legit, and this guy will probably be picked up pretty quick if it's really a disgruntled employee," he said in an instant message interview. "The whole thing looks like just a grab bag of stuff he had access to." [...] ___________________________________________________________ Tegatai Managed Colocation: Four Provider Blended Tier-1 Bandwidth, Fortinet Universal Threat Management, Natural Disaster Avoidance, Always-On Power Delivery Network, Cisco Switches, SAS 70 Type II Datacenter. Find peace of mind, Defend your Critical Infrastructure. http://www.tegataiphoenix.com/


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http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215879/Anonymous_hacker_claims_he_broke_into_wind_turbine_systems