In the SCADA systems of the leading vendors "holes" are detected

Last week the Italian expert in security to software applications disclosed details of several vulnerabilities which are not closed by the operating protection mechanisms which he managed to detect in products of management systems and data collection (SCADA) of different vendors. It, most likely, will strengthen alarm concerning operation of some infrastructures.

The researcher Luigi Auriemma already the second time this year announces vulnerabilities in the products SCADA. In March it described flaws in protection of products of the companies Siemens Iconics, 7-Technologies and Datac. Its works induced government agency of the USA on coordination and opposition of cyber crime - US-CERT, to publish four warnings of vulnerabilities.

The last punctures in protection of systems detected by the researcher are capable to have an impact on work of the SCADA systems of six vendors, including Rockwell Automation, Cogent DataHub, Measuresoft and Progea. Some of the revealed vulnerabilities are able to afford carrying out the attacks using remote computers, to attack the vulnerable systems with the subsequent their failure in service (denial-of-service).

Commenting on the researches, Auriyemma noted that honor all vulnerabilities which he managed to detect, allow remote accomplishment of a malicious code. Only one gap allows to start the mechanism of failure in the functioning of a system. According to him, he did not manage to find out whether the hole in protection of a product against Rockwell a possibility of accomplishment of a program code allows.

The researcher described some vulnerabilities as easy in use. Concerning one of them it is quite enough to make a team which is required to be executed far off while others are the classical, easily performed exploits. In certain cases start of exploits is complicated, Auriyemma told.

The expert reported that he did not contact vendors concerning results of the outputs yet. "It was only the fast experiment in which I devoted to each product several minutes", - he emphasized. At least, three from producers already released patches while Rockwell still works on one, he added.

The SCADA systems are applied by the companies to control of the crucial equipment in the field of power, at manufacturing enterprises, water treatment constructions and in some other the organizations. Analysts in the field of security are afraid that cyber attacks to such systems can lead to paralysis of the major objects of engineering infrastructure, such as power - and water supply. The Stuxnet worm is often given as an example of causing such harm: he used vulnerability of the SCADA system from Siemens for failure of works for the NPP in Iran.

As the consulting company Digital Bond specializing on security of management systems and control, the last vulnerabilities generally reported exist in developments of free or inexpensive workstations, on the basis of the Windows systems. They are used as interfaces to internal control systems.

One of such vulnerable products, the RSLogix system from Rockwell company, Digital Bond as the workstation used to configuring of the industrial management systems which are widely used in crucial infrastructure was described. The bulk of others - is less, it additions and products of data exchange which "are used in very small systems and as additions/options of the large systems", Digital Bond noted.

Joseph Weiss, the managing partner of Applied Control Systems LLC company, noted that the vulnerabilities detected by Auremma exist in the so-called human-computer interface (HMI) which is used for management of the industrial systems.

According to him, vulnerabilities in the HMI systems are not innovation, but it is impossible to minimize their influence - they can be used for receiving control over the system which is level below. "It is possible to use HMI to reach a control device, and it is possible to use a control device to reach HMI", - he told. He considers that without further analysis too early to speak about that, the vulnerabilities detected by Auremma are how critical - a lot of things depend on where these systems are used.

He also added that Rockwell - the large producer. This company creates a set of systems, some of them are used in really critical applications.

The representative of Rockwell said that the company will make the statement about it in the nearest future.