Hackers Attack Industrial Safety Systems with New Malware

While industrial cyber-security is not our typical fare here at Lion News, a recent attack on an industrial facility safety system could be of concern to our readers.

Industrial security company FireEye reported on December 14 that an attacker had deployed malware dubbed “Triton” or “Trisis” to disrupt safety instrumented systems (SIS) at a Middle East critical infrastructure facility. The exact location and name of the facility is being withheld at this time.

The Triton malware is aimed at critical safety systems used by oil and gas, nuclear energy, and manufacturing plants. The creators of the safety shutdown system targeted by the malware attack have released a security notification that includes cybersecurity recommendations for potentially affected customers.

This week, the Department of Homeland Security released a report on the TRITON/TRISIS malware.
 
While this is not the first time hacking has been used to disrupt industry or government facilities, Triton—initially identified in August 2017—is the first type of malware built specifically to attack safety systems, according to web security firm Symantec. 

Security company Dragos has published a report on the newly identified malware threat as well.

What Can Industrial Security Malware Do?

The Triton malware employed in this attack can impact safety instrumented systems (SIS) in three major ways:

1. Shut down an industrial process that was running safely, harming the facility’s production output and bottom line. This also has environmental consequences, as releases from industrial equipment are often more pronounced during start-up and shut-down.
2. Re-program the SIS to prevent it from recognizing unsafe conditions, putting people and the environment in danger—most immediately those employees who work around the automated process who may be injured by an unexpected release of hazardous chemicals or stored energy
3. Manipulating the industrial process into an unsafe state and disabling the SIS, putting workers, the environment, and the company’s equipment in great danger.

Note: For regular reports about chemical facility security, Lion News staff recommends Patrick Coyle’s Chemical Facility Security News blog.

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Tags: chemicals, facility security, osha, safety, security, security plan