FBI Probes Cyberattack in Illinois

Russia blamed for water pump shutdown
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2011 3:02 PM CST
FBI Probes Cyberattack in Illinois
A crest of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seen 03 August 2007 inside the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN   (Getty Images)

It's an unlikely story, but we appear to have the first successful case of foreign hackers attacking a US industrial facility, and it involves the shutdown of a water pump in Illinois. FBI and Homeland Security are investigating the recent shutdown, the Guardian reports, which has been blamed on Russian hackers who apparently got access to the supervisory control and data acquisition (Scada) software. Turning the Scada system on and off reportedly burned out the water pump. No supply issues resulted, but, "This is a big deal," says one cybersecurity expert. (More cyberattack stories.)

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