The statement from Global Secure Systems comes just days after a US Department of Homeland Security video, leaked to the press, showed a turbine bursting into flames after a simulated attack.
Marked for “official use only”, the video was created to demonstrate vulnerabilities in utility companies’ computers that experts believe could allow hackers to remotely control turbines, power stations and even whole electrical grids.
David Hobson, managing director at GSS said, “The Department of Homeland Security video shows a mock-up of an industrial turbine taken over by hackers and destroyed by turning it into a heap of smoking metal”.
“This is what can happen to your company’s hardware if a hacker gains access. We’re not talking about a software crash – which is bad enough – we’re talking about real physical damage.”
Although there is no evidence to suggest any firms have yet fallen victim to this kind of attack, President Bush’s top telecommunications team has warned that foreign intelligence agencies or well-funded terror groups could instigate one “with a high degree of anonymity”.
Robert Jamison, a top Homeland Security Department official, said companies are working to prevent such attacks.
“Is this something we should be concerned about? Yes,” he said. “But we’ve taken a lot of risk off the table”.
However, Hobson urged company managers to review their IT security protection if they are to defend against hackers and malware attacks.
