Chinese Hackers Exposed by U.S. Water Control System Decoy
August 5, 2013
A notorious hacking group from China, known as APT1 or Comment Crew, potentially affiliated with the Chinese military, has been caught infiltrating a simulated United States water control system, also referred to as a honeypot. Kyle Wilhoit, a researcher from Trend Micro, disclosed the findings at the BlackHat Conference this past Wednesday.
Back in December, the hackers targeted a water control system for a U.S. municipality, unaware it was a ruse set up by Wilhoit. The decoy utilized a Word document embedded with malicious software, allowing for complete access.
These honeypots closely resembled the ICS/SCADA devices employed in critical infrastructure for power and water facilities. The setup, which employed cloud software, produced realistic web-based login and configuration screens for local water plants, making them look as though they were based in various countries, including Ireland, Russia, Singapore, China, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and the U.S. Researchers have traced the activity back to the APT1 Group, which was previously linked to by the security firm Mandiant.
Chinese Hackers Compromised by Deceptive U.S. Water Control System Honeypots August 5, 2013 In a recent revelation, a prominent hacker group from China, identified as APT1 or the Comment Crew, has been implicated in an attempted breach of a simulated United States water control system that was, in fact, a…
Chinese Hackers Exposed by U.S. Water Control System Decoy
August 5, 2013
A notorious hacking group from China, known as APT1 or Comment Crew, potentially affiliated with the Chinese military, has been caught infiltrating a simulated United States water control system, also referred to as a honeypot. Kyle Wilhoit, a researcher from Trend Micro, disclosed the findings at the BlackHat Conference this past Wednesday.
Back in December, the hackers targeted a water control system for a U.S. municipality, unaware it was a ruse set up by Wilhoit. The decoy utilized a Word document embedded with malicious software, allowing for complete access.
These honeypots closely resembled the ICS/SCADA devices employed in critical infrastructure for power and water facilities. The setup, which employed cloud software, produced realistic web-based login and configuration screens for local water plants, making them look as though they were based in various countries, including Ireland, Russia, Singapore, China, Japan, Australia, Brazil, and the U.S. Researchers have traced the activity back to the APT1 Group, which was previously linked to by the security firm Mandiant.