Project Cyber Dawn Explored Libyan Vulnerabilities

Source: Infosec Island

The Washinton Post reports that private sector security advisors were advising the U.S. government on how best to exploit vulnerabilities in Libyan Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems used to control Moammar Gadhafi’s oil production.

Word of the advisory study, titled “Project Cyber Dawn”, came to light after the hacker collective LulzSec recently released emails stolen in a network breach of security contractor Unveillance.

According to a report in the Washington Post, “Project Cyber Dawn was put together by the Cyber Security Forum Initiative, a group whose membership includes military officials, academics and business leaders. Unveillance Chief Executive Karim Hijazi was one of the report’s 21 co-authors, among them forum founder Paul de Souza and Jeffrey Bardin, a former NSA code breaker.”

Project cyber Dawn outlined a strategy to disable a refinery at Ras Lanouf employing a Stuxnet-type designer virus aimed at disrupting the facility’s SCADA control systems.

SCADA systems provide operations control for critical infrastructure and production networks including manufacturing facilities, refineries, hydroelectric and nuclear power plants.

The Washington Post article goes on to state that “the authors of Cyber Dawn argued that something similar to the Stuxnet attack on Iran could be done in Libya, noting that German engineering conglomerate Siemens AG — whose software system was exploited by Stuxnet — has played an important role in projects across the North African country.”

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