Nelson, N. (2016). The impact of dragonfly malware on industrial control systems. SANS Institute .
In this article, Nelson discusses the Dragonfly malware, an instance of cybercrime similar to the Stuxnet computer worm incident. In June 2014, Dragonfly malware was detected. Just like Stuxnet, this malware was designed to attack industrial control systems (ICSs) across the United States and Europe. According to Nelson, the attack was conducted in an orchestrated manner over a long period. In addition, the attack used infection methods that were not only difficult to detect but also difficult to thwart. Nelson explores the manner in which Dragonfly malware infiltrated business systems and the impact of the malware on infected systems. With regard to the manner in which Dragonfly attack was orchestrated, the attack was three-phased and used spear-phishing campaign to infect victims, a remote access Trojan horse (RAT) to access systems, and used a software named Havex in watering hole attacks. Although the attackers did not cause any destruction of property, they compromised the computer systems of energy companies in the United States and Europe.
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Cherepanov, A. (2017). WIN32/INDUSTROYER: A new threat for industrial control systems. White paper, ESET (June 2017).
In this article, Cherepanov discusses the Industoyer malware, the biggest threat to ICSs since Stuxnet. This malware was designed to disrupt the working processes of ICSs used in electrical substations. In December 2016, Industroyer was used to shut down the power grid in Kieve, Ukraine’s capital. This malware had the ability to attack power grids automatically. Industroyer contains multiple modules and is capable of doing significant harm to electric power grids. Other than ICSs, this malware can also be refitted to target other types of critical infrastructures, such as transportation control systems. Compared to Stuxnet, Industroyer malware is more advanced as well as more sophisticated piece of malware that is used against ICSs.