SCADA: Telvent's Corporate Network Hacked | China to blame?

SCADA software maker, Telvent Canada, Ltd, a subsidiary of Schneider-Electric, confirms that its corporate network was compromised and files used by customers were also accessed.

Telvent Canada (www.telvent.com), a provider of SCADA software and other real-time tools for the utility and oil and gas industries, revealed in a recent letter to customers that a recent intrusion to its netowork had been executed by a Chinese group, called the Comment Group.Telvent Canada has contacted customers to warn them that a hacker or hackers breached its system, installed malware and stole files relating to OASysS SCADA. Brian Krebs, who made the story public, notes that this is an industrial control system designed for “smart grids” that track and respond to changes in demand.

Telvent itself says the system” ensures reliability by managing the distribution network and maintaining its operational integrity. It plays a central role in Smart Grid self-healing network architecture and improves overall grid safety and security.

Telvent's parent company, Schneider Electric (www.schneider-electric.com) released a statement. Martin Hanna, a spokesman for Schneider Electric, said, "that the company had alerted customers to the attack and that there was no evidence the attackers ever had the ability to access customers' networks. Telvent is aware of a security breach of its corporate network that has affected some customer files. Customers have been informed and are taking recommended actions, with the support of Telvent teams. Telvent is actively working with law enforcement, security specialists and its affected customers to ensure the breach has been contained,"

The recent attack coincided with the Telvent announcement of a partnership with Industrial Defender on Sept 12. Industrial Defender offers a product called Automation Systems Manager (ASM), which collects and analyzes data from software applicaitons that provide a clear view of critical control applications.