A recent technology infrastructure breach at a pool in Isreal highlights the need for aquatic facilities to consider more than just the physical aspects when securing their sites.
Hacktivist group ‘GhostSec’ recently bragged about having breached an unidentified hotel pool’s programmable logic controller (PLC), rendering the group in control of the site’s pH and chlorine levels.
An independent security firm’s (Otorio) post-breach report stated, “While we do not know for certain, it appears that the most likely aim of the breach was for the attackers to demonstrate that they had the ability to control the water’s pH.” (Otorio.com)
Although the cyberattack group didn’t provide details about the breach, such as hacked IP addresses or data dumps of the affected systems, researchers at Otorio found that vulnerabilities existed as a result of the facility’s systems ‘not including basic security mechanisms, such as authentication and encryption, in their technologies.’ (Otorio.com)
In this case, the pool’s operators simply used the default passwords provided in the system controllers’ vendor manual.
Otorio informed Israel’s Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT) about the details of this particular breach and also cooperated with authorities to resolve it quickly.
According to Outpost24, GhostSec is a highly organized hacktivist group associated with the international network hacktivists Anonymous. The group gained its reputation within the Anonymous collective by participating in the #opisis hacktivist initiative against ISIS back in 2015.
hope you all can understand our decision on not attacking their PH levels and risking a chance to harm the innocents of #Israel
Our "war" has always been FOR the people not against them. #FreePalestine
Details:https://t.co/7hczY9Owh1 pic.twitter.com/wGa7YXCbfV
— GhostSec (@ghost_s3curity) September 11, 2022
I wish they would hack the neighborhood YMCA pool. It would be an improvement.
“Free palestine” broke dudes always be wantin sum free ish😂😂😂
Maybe the simple answer is that terrorists have no place on this planet. Rather than placing blame on the victim, why don’t you recognize that innocent kids (and adults) are being targeted under the guise of a bogus movement who will do anything to attack and kill Jews.
Look, I get what you’re going for here (the victims aren’t to blame), but that also doesn’t solve anything.
We will destroy ourselves as a human race long before we figure out how to eradicate terrorism.
Best strategy is probably to work at it from both ends. Simultaneously deal with the root causes of terrorism (things like climate change, religious extremism) while working to protect ourselves from those terrorists.
Your strategy is akin to “dissolve the IDF because the Israelis are not to blame.”
Maybe simple things like pool maintenance do not have to be linked to the internet? Have someone manually push buttons or at least keep it on a closed system.
The tech drive to make everything “smart” is so dumb/weird. A friend of mine has a cat food dispenser with a web-connected camera, which seems insanely unnecessary and like a super easy way for someone to hack in and watch you. Somehow, I don’t think the security system on a cat food dispenser is very sophisticated.
They’re absolutely open to hacks. You can find YouTube videos of online trolls hacking into home security systems (which probably have far more security than a cat feeder) and harassing residents in their own homes. The extent to which people essentially wiretap their homes with invasive “smart” technology is completely mind-boggling to me.
Have you ever watched Ghost in the Machine (1993)? A deceased serial killer’s spirit infiltrates the city’s power grid and is able to kill using residents by tacking control of household appliances like microwaves and dishwaters. It’s extremely alarming. We need to learn how to prevent malevolent ghosts from being able to use electronic devices to exact revenge on the living.
“We need to learn how to prevent malevolent ghosts from being able to use electronic devices to exact revenge on the living.”
Maybe best post ever on SwimSwam