Home RESOURCES Timeline of Key Cyber-Kinetic Attacks, Incidents & Research

Timeline of Key Cyber-Kinetic Attacks, Incidents & Research

May 20, 2017

Below is a timeline of key historic cyber-kinetic attacks, system malfunctions and key researcher demos targeting cyber-physical systems (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Control Systems (ICS) resulting in kinetic impacts in the physical world. I tried to select only those that were first-of-the-kind or that significantly increased general awareness about a particular type of an attack or incident

I know that the list is incomplete. That’s where you come in. If you are aware of an incident or a research that demonstrated something new regarding cyber-kinetic threats or helped significantly raise the awareness, please contact me.

For a more readable version of the history of cyber-kinetic incidents and attacks check out this chapter from my book: https://ivezic.com/cyber-kinetic/timeline-of-key-cyber-kinetic-attacks-incidents-and-research/. You can also download all these incidents listed in one PowerPoint slide from https://www.slideshare.net/secret/2nijwZSS9HZFru.

2020

Targeted Attack – US Natural Gas Operator Shuts Down for 2 Days – Ransomware

US natural gas compression facility shuts down for 2 days after an attack on OT. A cyber threat actor used spearphishing to obtain initial access to IT network before pivoting to its OT network. Organization decided to shut down. It lasted two days.

Marin Ivezic

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For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.

He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.

2017

Malfunction – Soyuz Rocket Failure Linked to a Programming Error

Russian rocket failed to deploy 19 satellites it was carrying. Instead of releasing them into the orbit, it sent them toward Earth burning them up in Earth’s atmosphere. It appears that the cause can be tracked to a programming error.

Marin Ivezic

Website | Other articles

For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.

He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.

2017

Research – Test Demonstrates Vulnerabilities of a Commercial Aircraft

Passenger jet controls hacked remotely while on the runway by a team of US government, industry and academic officials.

Marin Ivezic

Website | Other articles

For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.

He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.

2017

Targeted Attack – “WannaCry” Ransomware Attacks

More than 75,000 hospitals, government agencies and businesses as large as Fedex and PetroChina in 99 countries found their systems locked and encrypted in a massive ransomware attack.

Marin Ivezic

Website | Other articles

For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.

He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.

2017

Research – Tests Show Vulnerabilities of Superyachts

Researcher Campbell Murray demonstrated the ease with which superyacht navigation, communication and Wi-Fi systems could be controlled remotely by hackers.

Marin Ivezic

Website | Other articles

For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.

He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.

2017

Research – Tests Show Vulnerabilities of Industrial Robots

Trend Micro researchers demonstrated multiple attack vectors in industrial robots that are vulnerable to attack by hackers.

Marin Ivezic

Website | Other articles

For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.

He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.

2017

Targeted Attack – BrickerBot: Botnet That Permanently Incapacitates Poorly Secured IoT Devices

BrickerBot botnets were the “permanent denial-of-service botnet” looking for insecure IoT devices such as those with telnet-based interface exposed and with default passwords and then attempting to take the devices out before they could be enslaved by Mirai and similar malicious botnets. The operator of BrickerBot claimed to have impacted more than 2 million devices.

Marin Ivezic

Website | Other articles

For over 30 years, Marin Ivezic has been protecting critical infrastructure and financial services against cyber, financial crime and regulatory risks posed by complex and emerging technologies.

He held multiple interim CISO and technology leadership roles in Global 2000 companies.