Operations of Russia's industrial sensor and monitoring infrastructure were claimed to have been disrupted by Ukrainian hacking operation Blackjack following a Fuxnet malware attack against Moscow-based underground infrastructure firm Moscollector, reports SecurityWeek.
Such an attack has resulted not only in the deactivation of Russia's Network Operation Center tracking the country's utilities and remote sensors and internet of things controllers but also in the total deletion of data storage and email servers, alleged Blackjack.
Further analysis conducted by Claroty determined that the potentially remotely deployed Fuxnet malware enabled the compromise of nearly 500 sensor gateways used by Moscollector but not its actual sensors for physical data collection. After erasing files and directories, as well as destroying the NAND memory chips of targeted devices, Fuxnet proceeds to conduct arbitrary data writing to prevent data transmission to sensors and sensor gateways, according to researchers.
"If the gateways were indeed damaged, the repairs could be extensive given that these devices are spread out geographically across Moscow and its suburbs, and must be either replaced or their firmware must be individually reflashed," said Claroty.
