Comments by "Chris Machabee" (@chrismachabee3128) on "NBC News"
channel.
-
Here is the problem. See if you can follow me. You have trains that run on time, and at the train station the computer that runs the trains and all the anxillary departments, ticketing, baggage, employees data, physical trains where there are, in repair or not, and then you have computer connection to contractors where information goes back and forth abour business and what is to be done.
Now picture that little beehive working, synergistically, and one day the train station computer is hacked, and the off switch is flipped and everything comes to a halt. Nothing can happens without the computer brain working.
Worse, is because all the connected businesses to the train station using the software, they too have been affected and their business cannot work because their information processing has stopped. Now, ask your question if new equipment will solve the problem? The answer is no.
The train computer system was built to standard and they set security up when it was built a few decades ago, but software has changed, and the original operating system has changed, and maybe the kept up with the upgrades and maybe they didn't.
What happens is software upgrades can be made automatic. Those upgrapes need to be tended to because maybe there is a security opening that needs to be patched, and maybe it gets patched and maybe it doesn't. People are awfully busy.
Hackers learn what is running on the computer and find vulnerabilities, could be more than one, and that my friend is what we then can call an exploit. The hackers can exploit the vulnerability, walk in the door, go up to the control panel, make needed changes, and now they are in control.
They flip the switch to off and there is nothing you can do, as you are locked out from the system. Everything connected to you downstream is also locked out and so there you are, in a digital choke hold.
Pay or cease to exist. Remember the whole system everywhere is down, there is no way to replace all the equipment to solve this problem.
9 times out of 10 the exploit vulnerability was preventible.
4
-
2
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1
-
1