Germany

Reuters: German Nuke Plant Infected by Conficker, Ramnit Malware

In brief: the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant in Germany disclosed a malicious software infection including the Conficker and Ramnit malware. The infection occurred on systems used to help move nuclear fuel rods, Reuters reported.

Massive Breach at Law Firm Exposes Shell Companies

In-brief: A massive leak of sensitive client data from a Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, has sent shockwaves around the world: exposing shell companies and other tax havens set up by the wealthy, elected officials and celebrities.

Cyberattack Inflicts Massive Damage on German Steel Factory

  A report released this week from Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security said that a German steel manufacturing plant was severely damaged by a cyber-physical attack this year. The incident was mentioned in an annual report by the Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (or BSI), which provided a summary of cyber security issues and incidents affecting Germany. According to the report, a German steel manufacturing facility was the victim of a “targeted attack” that the report labeled an “APT” or “advanced persistent threat” style attack.  [Read more Security Ledger coverage of APT-style attacks.] The attackers used a sophisticated spear-phishing e-mail and social engineering to get access to the office network at the steelworks, the report claims. “From there, they worked successively to production networks.” The malicious code disrupted the function of control system components that led to a blast furnace not being able to be turned off in a regulated fashion. “The result (was) massive damage […]