Eric Byres

Cyber security threats, from sophisticated malware like Stuxnet, Night Dragon and Duqu, or from the publishing of an unprecedented number of security vulnerabilities, are causing a major disruption in the industrial automation market.

If you are a process control engineer, an IT professional in a company with an automation division, or a business manager responsible for safety or security, you may be wondering how your organization can get moving on more robust cyber security practices. 

Two industry veterans, Eric Byres and John Cusimano, combine industry standards, best practice materials, and their real-world experience to provide an easy-to-follow 7-step process for improved ICS and SCADA security.

AusCERT 2011: Eric Byres demonstrates SCADA protection

News coverage following the release of the White Paper "How Stuxnet Spreads – A Study of Infection Paths in Best Practice Systems" by Eric Byres, Andrew Ginter, and Joel Langill.

The Stuxnet worm is a sophisticated piece of computer malware designed to sabotage industrial processes controlled by Siemens SIMATIC WinCC and PCS 7 control systems.

This paper describes an example of a site following high security architecture best practices and then shows the ways that the worm could make its way through the defences of the site to take control of the process and cause physical damage.

The paper closes with a discussion of the lessons that can be learned from the analysis of Stuxnet’s propagation pathways. It explains how owners of critical systems need to respond to protect control systems from future threats of this type.