"How Two Researchers Used an App Store to Demonstrate Hacks on a Factory"

A malware attack experienced by the German car parts manufacturer Rheinmetall Automotive resulted in the disruption of production at the company's plants that cost an estimate of $4 million per week. The incident brought further attention to the potential damages a factory could face because of computer viruses. Although awareness surrounding such threats has increased among factory owners, many of them still consider these attacks to be isolated incidents instead of the work of a determined malicious actor. Researchers from Trend Micro and the Politecnico di Milano School of Management conducted a study to demonstrate the different ways in which an attacker can disrupt production at a factory. The goal of their research is to help organizations bolster their defenses against hacks. One of the attacks performed in this study changed a factory's temperature readings to stop production. They also discovered a security flaw in software that manages virtual replicas of a factory machine or process. The exploitation of this flaw could allow attackers to trick a factory's machinery into producing goods using a defective design. This article continues to discuss the malware attack faced by Rheinmetall Automotive last year, the common perception about attacks against factories, and findings from a study aimed at helping manufacturers improve the security of their factories. 

CyberScoop reports "How Two Researchers Used an App Store to Demonstrate Hacks on a Factory"