Security News > 2020 > July > Honeywell Sees Rise in USB-Borne Malware That Can Cause Major ICS Disruption
Honeywell says it has seen a significant increase over the past year in USB-borne malware that can cause disruption to industrial control systems.
While only 11% of the malware found on USB drives was specifically designed to target industrial systems - this represents a slight drop compared to the 14% identified in 2018 - 59% of the detected threats could cause significant disruption to industrial systems, compared to only 26% in 2018.
These pieces of malware can launch DoS attacks, cause loss of view to operations management networks, and damage or disrupt key assets, Honeywell says.
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"This makes logical sense: in industrial environments, where network access is difficult, gaining a foothold via USB to then establish remote access and download new malware is a sound strategy for an attacker," the company said in its report.