An Cosantóir May 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie
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by PAUL O'BRIEN MA
I
nstead of using bullets and bombs, hackers use bits
and bytes to attack central infrastructures. this new
type of warfare is developing on a daily basis as em-
bedded computers are running everything from cars to
pacemakers; devices which are all hackable.
While hackers remain anonymous, their reach is global. In
recent months there have been two high-profile cyber at-
tacks in Europe. There was a total shut down of TV5 Monde
resulting in the cessation of transmission of a number of its
channels and in Ukraine, an attack on two electricity grids
resulted in a major power outage. While such attacks in
the past have been attributed to computer nerds, there has
recently been a worrying trend that insurgents and rogue
nations are launching a new campaign of terror.
The world is becoming more dependent on computers
and a concentrated attack has the capability to take down
power networks, water infrastructure, financial
systems or air traffic control systems, causing
chaos. While perimeter security at such complexes is high,
network security can be lax. These threats are viable and
reveal that there is a need to develop a full counter-cyber-
attack capability.
The internet has become a conduit for attack as cy-
ber sabotage has become prevalent. We are all familiar
with data breaches, identity theft and credit card fraud,
to name but a few, but breaching protective computer
programmes can have devastating effects. Hacking a
programme protecting a pipeline could cause it to explode
just as if it was attacked by a kinetic weapon. Hackers can
also infiltrate industrial or military systems to steal data
for cyber espionage utilising malware.
Until recently, controls at power plants were mechanical
switches, immune to cyber attack, but now with the drive
to put everything on line, a hole has been created in our
defences that no one seems able
to plug. Entering malicious
codes into a computer
network or PLC
