US Stops Chinese Hack of Critical Infrastructure

In late January, the FBI revealed that the US had disrupted a hacking effort sponsored by the Chinese government and designed to take down services such as water treatment, oil pipelines, and power grids in the US.  

Why It Matters 

The thought of a resident malware program that can be installed and wait…to be triggered at the moment of the hacker's choosing is extremely unsettling. This is even more true when the system targeted involves the infrastructure we all rely on for our daily lives. Notably, however, the hacks were successful not because of superior technical capabilities but because of poor hygiene on the US side. The hackers found holes in the networks in the form of old routers than no longer receive updated software/security patches. This is an extremely important – and so far, free – lesson in why it matters that all businesses upgrade their hardware and software so that it can and does run current versions of operating and safety systems. It is very easy to imagine the havoc your company could suffer, or could cause to your customers whose information is accessible via your system, if someone essentially walks in through an unlocked door.  

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