Cyber Attack Causing Physical Damage

[xoxoxoBruce]

You hear occasional village idiots claiming people are getting sick from catching a virus off the internet. We also snickered over tales of a cyber attack destroying hardware... until Stuxnet. But even after that the probably of hardware damage was low enough the story teller would usually be greeted with rolled eyes and hurried goodbyes.

Now a second confirmed case of a cyber attack resulting in physical damage in a German steel mill. The (pdf in German) report says that hackers had struck an unnamed steel mill in Germany. By manipulating and disrupting control systems a blast furnace could not be properly shut down, resulting in “massive” unspecified damage.

This is nothing compared to the disruption experts are predicting could be coming to power grids, water systems, transportation systems, etc. Maybe a bunker in Idaho isn't so crazy.

Link