Industrial Control Systems
Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are an integral part of our daily lives whether we realize it or not. They are at the very heart of virtually all manufacturing operations, the generation transmission and distribution of power, the transport of gas and oil as well as at the core of supply chain and distribution systems. Without them we would not be able to sustain our lives. While these systems are designed to ensure smooth, efficient, and safe operation, industrial control systems are vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Ways in which an ICS can be manipulated by an attacker:
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Hackers can bring an entire operation, such as a manufacturing plant, to a halt, potentially costing many millions of dollars, as well as causing a loss of trust by consumers.
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They can alter the behavior of an industrial control system in a reversal-of-command attack, for example, resulting in equipment doing the exact opposite of what it was designed to do. In this manner, a water valve will remain opened when, in fact, the operator wants to shut it. Attacks like these can lead to substantial damage of equipment and even harm products that are manufactured.
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Hackers can tunnel through an ICS end-node into back-end systems, where they can steal or alter valuable data. Access to back-end systems can be used to extort ransom money or apply pressure to management.
Revere Security's Hummingbird HB-2 technology secures even the smallest devices in industrial control systems such as programmable logic controllers (PLC), intelligent electronic devices (IED) and remote terminal units (RTU). These edge devices scarcely have the memory or processing power to accommodate traditional IT encryption and authentication technologies.
In fact, Revere Security was founded specifically because PLCs need to be secured. At the time, initial tests in the Department of Homeland Security showed that traditional IT security, built for fast, powerful computers, did not work. In consequence, Revere Security's Eric Smith developed the first Hummingbird cipher based on ICS requirements.
Today, Revere offers four products to secure end nodes in ICS:
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The Hummingbird HB-2 cipher encrypts and decrypts data that is sent to and from the smart meter. It will be impossible for an attacker to see when a command such as the remote termination feature is sent, thus not allowing them to emulate it.
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The Hummingbird HB-2 mutual authentication protocol ensures that only known systems communicate with the industrial controller. This is particularly helpful when an attacker tries to communicate with the industrial controller directly. Once Hummingbird has been implemented, the smart meter will only respond to known communication partners who authenticate themselves properly.
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The Hummingbird key management system allows for the efficient use of a symmetric device keys as well as temporary session keys. Both are critical to establish secure communications and protect power, water, and gas meters from unauthorized access.
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The Hummingbird fast key lookup engine allows users to quickly find and authenticate keys that enable communication between end nodes and information systems.
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02.28.12 @ 12:00 am: Ramtron and Revere Security Join Forces to Enable Secure and Energy Efficient F-RAM Semiconductor Devices
12.06.11 @ 12:00 am: Revere Security and Evigia have partnered to tap into the much sought-after market for secure RFID solutions leveraging Evigia's cutting edge active RFID systems.
11.29.11 @ 12:00 am: Revere Security's Chief Cryptanalyst, Peter Schweitzer, passed away on October 13, 2011 after suffering a stroke. "Peter is a key pillar of our company," said Rick Stephenson, CEO and President of Revere Security. "Hummingbird evolved through his analysis and tutelage. The name itself was given to us by Peter. We deeply miss him and his wonderful innovations."
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