By Ann Longmore-Etheridge
A U.S. utility has been hacked and its control systems compromised, says the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The utility was not named in a report that was released this week by the agency's Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team, notes Reuters. "Such cyberattacks are rarely disclosed by ICS-CERT, which typically keeps details about its investigations secret to encourage businesses to share information with the government. Companies are often reluctant to go public about attacks to avoid potentially negative publicity," the news agency reports. The hackers "may have launched the latest attack through an Internet portal that enabled workers to access the utility's control systems. It said the system used a simple password mechanism that could be compromised using a technique known as 'brute forcing,' where hackers digitally force their way in by trying various password combinations," Reuters says.
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