Vanishing Point: New PLC Malware Leverages Processor Problems to Go Dark

Description

Malicious actors have historically passed over programmable logic controllers (PLCs) — the devices that control and monitor sensors, valves and motors in the manufacturing and energy industries — in favor of easier targets. Until recently, PLCs were separated from public-facing networks.

Thanks to the rise of Internet of Things (IoT) deployments, companies have started to shift away from internal-only models. As noted by CSO Online, however, this also opened the door for security researchers to create a new kind of PLC malware that leverages existing problems with microprocessors to operate undetected and wreak significant havoc.