I'm not a pipeline expert, but I've been doing computers sense the early 90s. You have a pipe. It has pumps and valves. You have a computer that controls it all. The computer gets hacked. UNPLUG THE DAM COMPUTER... and plug in another one. Then restart the pumps. If they are too incompetent to figure out a workaround then get the hell out of the way and let someone else try.
If there is one thing I've learned with computers its that the guy at the console is god. There is no such thing as taking over from a remote location. Anyone that tells you differently has been watching too many movies. Send real actual human beings out the the pumps, unplug the dam computer and just turn the pump on manually. Yeah, a person might have to watch the pressure and flow rates etc rather than the computer. So the hell what. Get the dam gas flowing again morons.
That's not a virus. Its just a remote hack. Those happen every once in a while. You just have to stay patched. There are other ways to prevent that type of attack. Like for one don't run Imap or pop servers unless you HAVE to. Like on a mail server.
An equivalent exploit on windows would mean a virus/worm that spreads from machine to machine automatically infecting every machine in the network and then emailing itself to every persons contact list to attempt to spread to other networks.
An exploit like what you listed has to be used by a somewhat skilled hacker to directly attack one individual machine. If he gains access then he has to personally invade the machine and attempt to take it over.
One is easy to stop. A guy like me goes to the effected machine once the problem is spotted and unplugs the network cable. Then you fix it. The other can take out and entire building in a matter of hours and take 20 people a week to fix.
Windows is a security joke. If you believe otherwise then you clearly have never done real computer security.
Everyone is still ignoring my original point. Skilled technicians should be able to solve these problems in 1-2 days and get the gas flowing again. The fact that the gas isn't flowing clearly shows this is about bureaucrats and/or politicians don't WANT it to flow. Computer problems are just an excuse for the normies who don't know better.
Hey I just wanted to dispel the myth that "MuH bSD iS uNhAcKaBlE" for your own professional integrity. If a PLC can be wormed into blowing up a centrifuge an OS can be exploited. Maintaining up to date patches is apparently no small task, as most ransomware attacks were preventable by simple patching.
I wasn't trying to imply that BSD or unix is un-hackable. Any OS can have a vulnerability. Most unix OS are much harder to hack. They also give the admin much more control over how they run and what's turned on or off. A properly fire-walled FreeBSD box with every unnecessary network service turned off is virtually un-hackable.
I know this for a fact. For three years I ran a company that provided shell accounts to hackers. I lived in what could only be compared to Dodge City of the internet. I was never hacked, but almost all of my competitors were at some point. Mainly because most of them ran Linux. It wasn't because I was some awesome hacker it was because I had a simply philosophy... if its not needed turn it off. If it is needed keep it up to date etc.
Windows on the other hand... heh. Back then it was a joke. These days its still half a joke. You can put frosting on a turd... its still a turd.
If this pipeline attack was an attack on the equipment directly(PLCs, stuxnet etc) then I have to wonder why the equipment had such a vulnerability. I guess sometimes its impossible to know you are vulnerable but if that was the case wouldn't they be hacking other pipelines and even other industries that use the same hardware? No, either someone screwed the pouch or maybe someone installed a screen door on the submarine on purpose.
And my original point still stands. It doesn't matter what system was effected. You get extra people to help and you fix it. The idea that a remote software attack requires more than a few days to overcome seems odd to me. It seems even more odd given the politics involved. Its almost like its just an excuse to screw over the southern states. Hmmmm... I wonder who would want to do that?