A leading cyber security expert says a suspected Russian cyber attack on the Dutch public prosecution office should be the moment the UK ITS industry really takes its cyber security obligations seriously.
Reports in the Netherlands suggest dozens of speed cameras have been offline after a hack in June which led to the sites being taken offline, and it is not clear when they will be operational again.
“I would see this as a clarion call, to the ITS community in the UK and Europe and to National Highways in particular, as they share so many systems with the Dutch Rijkswaterstaat,” commented Peter Simm, Strategic Business Manager at IoT telecommunications company Mobius Networks. “If indeed it is a Russian-led hack, they will have found a vulnerability that is surely shared across many systems, this could potentially be exploited in the UK.”
Mobius has publicly stated that when it comes to connectivity “security is not an option and needs to be mandatory, from the connectivity, device, and SIM perspective.” Peter Simm and his colleague Jon Lyons speak regularly at events highlighting cyber risks and mitigation.
“At the ITS UK parliamentary event [on 17 June] I asked whose system would be the first in the UK to bring either a Motorway system down or bring a major conurbation to a standstill if it were hacked,” Mr Simm added. “A prediction that has taken a step closer, sadly and one that I have no doubt could have been prevented.”
A year ago Jon Lyons predicted cyber criminals would go after roadside technology when he spoke to Highways News after a hack of Transport for London. “Cybercriminals use fear and emotion to get their target to pay up quickly to reduce exposure and/or downtime,” he explained. “Imagine if all of the traffic lights in London went to red, or all of the enforcement cameras stopped working, or all of the fuel stations and EV chargers stopped, or there was a massive power surge caused by millions of devices demanding power simultaneously, the list goes on… what impact will that have to lost revenue? Would it be cheaper to pay the Cybercriminal?”
(Picture – Yay Images)
