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XENOTIME, the notorious group behind what is regarded as the most dangerous malware targetting industrial control systems has expanded its targeting beyond oil and gas to the electric utility sector. Dragos, an industrial systems cybersecurity firm, identified a change of pattern in XENOTIME behavior in February of 2019 where XENOTIME began probing the networks of electric utility organizations in the US and elsewhere using similar tactics to the group’s operations against oil and gas companies. Highlighting below a couple of noteworthy paragraphs from the Dragos report on Friday.
— Background: “The 2017 TRISIS malware attack on a Saudi Arabian oil and gas facility represented an escalation of attacks on ICS. TRISIS targeted safety systems and was designed to cause loss of life or physical damage. Following that attack, XENOTIME expanded its operations to include oil and gas entities outside the Middle East.”
— The cause for concern: “While none of the electric utility targeting events has resulted in a known, successful intrusion into victim organizations to date, the persistent attempts, and expansion in scope is cause for definite concern. XENOTIME has successfully compromised several oil and gas environments which demonstrate its ability to do so in other verticals.”
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