Attribution Challenges in Cyber Attacks

A mysterious mechanical failure one fateful night in a Saudi Arabian chemical plant leads a cast of operational technology researchers down a strange path towards an uncommon, but grave, threat. In this episode, we hear how these researchers discovered this threat and tried to identify who was responsible for the malware behind it. We also consider how this kind of attack may pose a threat to human life wherever there are manufacturing or public infrastructure facilities around the world.

A big thanks to Julian Gutmanis, Naser Aldossary, Marina Krotofil, and Robert M. Lee for sharing their stories with us.

Sponsors

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Sources

• https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2019/04/triton-actor-ttp-profile-custom-attack-tools-detections.html
• https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2017/12/attackers-deploy-new-ics-attack-framework-triton.html
• https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2018/10/triton-attribution-russian-government-owned-lab-most-likely-built-tools.html
• https://dragos.com/wp-content/uploads/TRISIS-01.pdf
• Video S4 TRITON - Schneider Electric Analysis and Disclosure
• Video S4 TRITON - Mandiant Analysis at S4x18
• Video S4 TRITON - Reverse Engineering the Tricon Controller by Dragos
• Video S4 TRITON - A Report From The Trenches
• Video - Safety Orientation video for the Chemical Plant