After the attack on Oldsmar, where a hacker gained access to the network of a water treatment plant and altered the chemical dosages to dangerous levels, the FBI issued a warning on Tuesday, highlighting three security issues observed in the plant's network after the breach last week.
The notice, called the Private Industry Notification or FBI PIN, warns about the use of out-of-date Windows 7 systems, weak passwords and TeamViewer software, urging private companies and federal and government agencies to review their internal networks.
The FBI PIN specifically names TeamViewer as a dangerous desktop sharing software to watch out for after it was confirmed as the attacker's entry point into the Oldsmar water treatment plant's network.
According to a Reuters report, representatives said that last Friday the attacker connected twice to a computer on the Oldsmar water treatment plant's network via TeamViewer.
The second time, the intruder took control of the operator's mouse, moved it to the screen, and made changes to the sodium hydroxide levels that were added to the drinking water.
While the operator reversed the changes made by the hacker almost immediately, the incident became a major topic of discussion among security professionals.
One of the topics discussed is the use of TeamViewer in critical infrastructure in the U.S. In a report by Motherboard published on Tuesday, several prominent security experts criticized companies and employees who use the software for remote work, calling it insecure and inadequate for managing sensitive resources.
While the FBI PIN warning does not take a critical stance against TeamViewer, the FBI wanted federal and private organizations to be wary of the app.
The FBI alert doesn't specifically tell organizations to uninstall TeamViewer or any other type of desktop sharing software, but it does warn that hackers can use it to gain access to employee accounts if remote access accounts are secured with weak passwords.
Additionally, the FBI warning warns against the continued use of Windows 7, an operating system that reached its end of life last year, on January 14, 2020.
This part of the warning was included because the Oldsmar water treatment plant is still using Windows 7 on network .
Although there is no evidence indicating that the attackers used specific vulnerabilities in Windows 7, the FBI says that using an old operating system is dangerous.
However, a report by Cyberscoop published today highlights the fact that the Oldsmar plant, like many other water treatment facilities in the US, is understaffed.
While the FBI issued the warning with good intentions, many companies may not be able to do anything about all of the above, as everything indicates that a serious financial investment in the IT infrastructure of this type of companies/infrastructures will be required.
Information source: zdnet.com
