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Australian Grid Threatened by Computer Virus By Alex Yu Zheng Oct 20, 2009 - 5:23:12 PM
A computer virus recently caused a lot of trouble at Integral Energy in Australia, forcing it to rebuild all of its 1,000 desktop computers. The utility uses Symantec antivirus on its computers, but apparently had not updated some of its computers’ virus definitions since February. The Virus (W32.Virut.CF) affected all of the company’s Windows machines, threatening to take down some of its vital control room operator displays. The control systems for the electric power system itself was UNIX-based and thus not endangered by the virus, however the control room operator displays, which had not been properly separated from other computers, were left vulnerable. Fortunately, these computers were changed out in time to prevent a major outage from occurring. Supposedly, the only reason that the operators were running the Windows boxes in their control center was to run remote terminal Windows connecting to the UNIX based grid control system. It may have been the case that there were additional Windows-based user interface applications that the operators were using. We are told that the Windows boxes were substituted with Linux boxes at the time of infection to prevent the spread of the virus, however it should be noted that simply switching operating systems does not form a viable solution for cyber-security over the long term. While it may be easy to say that this is a “Windows problem,” the fundamental errors of this utility go beyond operating systems issues. The utility clearly did not have adequate antivirus practices within its computer base, and lacked a strong separation between critical operating computers and the rest of its desktop computers. While the quick utility response should be commended, it probably came at a much higher cost than prevention. Subscribe to our FREE eMail News Alert!
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