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Thread: Blaster worm linked to US blackout

  1. #1

    Blaster worm linked to US blackout

    Hey guys, if this was already posted here... pls ignore it

    I came across this article. Check out this link

    http://www.computerweekly.com/articl...avourID=1&sp=1

  2. #2
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    I highly doubt it.. sounds like an excuse to me.

    read this >> http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/blackout.html

    Blaster blackout? Sophos questions rumours that internet worm was responsible for North American power cuts
    Sophos has questioned rumours circulating on the internet that the W32/Blaster-A worm may have been responsible for yesterday's power blackouts in North America.

    The power cuts, which struck across North Eastern America and areas of Canada, affected an estimated 50 million people in New York, Detroit, Toronto and Ottawa as well as other cities. According to reports, thousands of people were trapped in subways and elevators as officials battled to bring power back online.

    Amidst confusion about the cause of the power outage, rumours spread that the fast-spreading Blaster internet worm may have been responsible. However, Sophos believes this is unlikely.

    "Critical computers running power stations are unlikely to be linked to the internet and vulnerable to this kind of attack," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus.

    Nine nuclear reactors in four US states were said to have been taken offline, and the power outage was described as the largest in US history.

    "Of course, the power cut may have affected some users' ability to ensure their computers are protected against the worm. Many people will have gone home last night planning to update their home computers with the patch from Microsoft and ensure their anti-virus was up-to-date," continued Cluley. "It is important that all computer users ensure their systems are patched as soon as possible."

  3. #3
    I did not know the power grid ran Windows. If so, we are doomed

  4. #4
    Ok, i think it MAY have had a small impact on the power grid, but the operators of the grid shudda had other ways to tell that there was a cascading effect, and still shudda been able to stop it.... I think that the blaster worm could just be a small excuse to the tragedy.... (P.S. i am just outside of toronto, so i was affected too.... Our water was out too, due to some problems)

  5. #5
    Now, RFC Compliant! Noia's Avatar
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    wouldn't the power grid need to run a Real-time system? and we all know windows can't even get close to Real-time processing....slow pice of crap.
    With all the subtlety of an artillery barrage / Follow blindly, for the true path is sketchy at best. .:Bring OS X to x86!:.
    Og ingen kan minnast dei linne drag i dronningas andlet den fagre dag Då landet her kvilte i heilag fred og alle hadde kjærleik å elske med.

  6. #6
    AO Decepticon CXGJarrod's Avatar
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    Also, I was reading a article about this issue (cant find the link) that said when something happens to the systems that run these nuclear reactors, they go back to their default settings and do not shut off.
    N00b> STFU i r teh 1337 (english: You must be mistaken, good sir or madam. I believe myself to be quite a good player. On an unrelated matter, I also apparently enjoy math.)

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    All nuclear power plants are required to have backup analog systems along with the digital scada systems. In the case of the nuclear power plant that was not online and was infected by SQLSlammer, had the reactor been online, they would have been able to control all aspects of the reactor via the analog systems.

  8. #8
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    Blackout Probe Hears FirstEnergy Tapes

    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...es_blackout_dc
    "We have no clue. Our computer is giving us fits, too. We don't even know the status of some of the stuff around us," an operator at Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy said.
    "Events on our system, in and of themselves, could not account for the widespread nature of the outage," FirstEnergy Chief Executive Peter Burg told the House panel.
    N00b> STFU i r teh 1337 (english: You must be mistaken, good sir or madam. I believe myself to be quite a good player. On an unrelated matter, I also apparently enjoy math.)

  9. #9
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    Oh please dont any of u ppl think that it is just a BIT suspicious that the US lost power, the London lost it, and now parts of Sydney have lost it??
    Consider the current world status d00ds...
    I think its just a TAD bit LINKED to TERRORRISOM....
    tho thats just my oppinion

    Nightfalls_Girl

  10. #10
    I dont know about that much about it, but i do find it odd that a worm is being blamed for the blackout. The real problem seems to be that our power grid is 100 years old, not a worm. Now however sombody got the idea to to cram this crap down our throats, to take attention off of the real issue. I think it would cost 30 billion to fix our power grid, and that means higher taxes or power rate increases. We all know politicians dont get re-elected when americans have to pay more.



    Just my thoughts


    p.s. i really think it has more to do with heat than terrorism

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