Hacker Culture and Mitigation: Nuclear Power Facility
Khamara Harris
University of Maryland University College CSEC 620
Table of Contents
Abstract Page 3
Introduction Page 4
Threat Actors Page 4
Motives Page 5
Methods of Preventing/Discouraging Hackers Page 7
Conclusion Page 8
References Page 9
Abstract
"All states possess an inherent right to self-defense, and we recognize that certain hostile acts conducted through cyberspace could compel actions under the commitments we have with our military treaty partners," says the report. "We reserve the right to use all necessary means—diplomatic, informational, military, and economic—as appropriate and consistent with applicable international law."
Anderson, 2012
Hacker Culture and Mitigation: Nuclear Power Facility
Introduction
In the past few years cyber warfare has been at an all-time high. War is no longer just bombs and weapons, but targeting a nation’s critical infrastructure as a means to benefit the other. Lately the most valuable target has been Nuclear power facilities. The largest attack on a nuclear power facility started in 2006 when President Bush was in office. President Bush and the NSA named the attack code name: Olympic Games but was later named STUXNET after that bug had been found in 2010. At this point in time STUXNET has been the most powerful cyber-attack launched by the United States. For many years STUXNET was so sophisticated that it was able to target Iran’s nuclear power facility known as Natanz by crashing centrifuges. The worm was able to be hidden to look as if the facility was undergoing normal mechanical hardships. Much to Iran’s surprise they were actually under a massive cyber-attack, which would slow down their production of uranium. This of which is used to create bombs, explaining the underlying reasons for which the attack was