Case Study: Real World Effects of Cyber-Attacks

It is widely perceived that cyber crime and cyber attacks happen in cyberspace and that their effects remain there. This case study highlights the fact that this is not true, as recent attacks on industrial production facilities prove.

This case study looks at mechanisms of advanced cyber attack mechanisms and their effect on production companies. It also analyses actions which production companies can take to secure their systems and provides the reader with examples of how to prevent cyber attacks in the future.

This fascinating case study is based on a real attack on a steel plant that resulted in significant damage to the company. The company had become a victim of a spearphishing attack. The company specialized in the production of cast steel products. They operated a number of high-capacity blast furnaces that had standard industry computer controlled systems, which were connected to the company's production computer network.

This case study is aimed at students on operations management courses, the case examines examples of computer controlled industrial equipment. Author Lucian Tipi looks at the lack of security and various legacy systems that are connected to unsecured networks and gives vital advice on how to mitigate the issues that arise.

About the Author

Lucian Tipi is a principal lecturer in Business Systems in the department of Finance, Accounting and Business within Sheffield Business School. Lucian is an expert in the area of IS security and electronic crime.