back to article So. A cross-Europe cyberwar simulation. Of ransomware

Organisers have drawn up their conclusions following a pan-European cyberwar exercise. Cyber Europe 2016, the fourth cyber crisis exercise organised by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), is one of the biggest international stress-test exercises to date. Over 1,000 participants from all 28 …

  1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    A simulation? Haven't we had enough real ones in the last little while?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Haven't we had enough real ones in the last little while?

      Real ones don't support the c€12m budget of ENISA. There's some earnest people making decent money out of this, and ENISA is based in Greece, because that's the tech and hacking centre of the EU. ENISA could be the last 100 employed people in Greece. Would you want to put them out of a job?

  2. m0rt

    This is why...

    ...WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS connected to the internet.

    So just don't. Yes, inconvenient and you can't get the latest stats on your Le Nuclear Power station delivered to your iPhone. But I am ok with that.

    I am sure it is not that simple but ,jeez. What will it take for a proper attitude to this shit?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This is why...

      There's no reason you couldn't get the latest stats delivered to your phone. You'd just have to implement it as a one way channel via UDP or maybe even serial with the RX line disconnected, sent to an intermediary computer which is what your phone or browser connects to.

      The problem is that companies want to sell features, so they don't want a simple data dump that's not configurable. The minute data can be sent the other direction, you should begin to worry.

  3. Mage Silver badge

    Cloud?

    Did they simulate:

    1) Almost all POS, Banking, Mobile Billing and corporate stuff outsourced to Cloud

    2) Cloud being simply hosting of maybe six big companies

    3) Some vital part of Cloud being a mono-culture, such that ALL of something goes down when a patch is rolled out (Pick any of: DNS, Edge Routers, Load Balancing, IP stack, SQL server, PHP etc)

    And/or what happens if all terrestrial clocks using GPS (or alternate Satellite) are lost due to war, solar flare, SW bug on satellites. Such DVB, DAB, Mobile base stations, High Speed Trading, etc.

    There is a book just out "No Silver Lining" that has this (a patch and monoculture, too much outsourcing and to few hosting). Though it concludes death from Flu is more in a typical year.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Cloud?

      "Though it concludes death from Flu is more in a typical year."

      And we're probably due for a pandemic.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Cloud?

        If anything, overdue for a pandemic. Black Death is/was the next one on the short list, in Eastern Asia. There was an outbreak in China which they stomped on hard. Unless you weren't looking for, you wouldn't have heard about it. It'll be something else shortly. It always is.

        1. Edward Clarke

          Re: Cloud?

          The "Black Death" is endemic in the western United States. A few people get it every year but it's easily dealt with by antibiotics. Here's a link to news from a few days ago:

          https://nypost.com/2017/06/29/more-cases-of-the-plague-confirmed-in-new-mexico/

          Meh.

          1. Cuddles

            Re: Cloud?

            "it's easily dealt with by antibiotics"

            For now. Viruses have been popular for epidemics in the last century because antibiotics have been so effective at treating bacterial diseases. With the rise of antibiotic resistance and not much progress coming up with new kinds to replace the ones that no longer work, it's entirely possible that the next major outbreak will be one of the traditional medieval bacterial diseases.

    2. Tom Paine

      Re: Cloud?

      ...yes. As the actors in the simulation are real people in real organisations dealing with actual technology as deployed in the real world.

      Like it says in the article.

    3. Tom Paine
      Mushroom

      Re: Cloud?

      And/or what happens if all terrestrial clocks using GPS (or alternate Satellite) are lost due to war, solar flare, SW bug on satellites. Such DVB, DAB, Mobile base stations, High Speed Trading, etc.

      A Carrington Event (pretty much the only thing that could knock out all, what, five? GPS type systems simultaneously) would also fry every digital electronic device, and almost all plain old analogue electrical equipment, globally. DAB radio not working would really not be very high up anyone's list of priorities at that point. The immediate global collapse of civilisation and many millions, possibly billions of deaths in pretty short order as food logistics collapsed would probably be a bit of a bigger deal.

  4. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    So basically this is a fun & games themepark ...

    ... vendors and consultants can strut their stuff, "persons in charge" can look important in made-up scenarios, public relation desks get to use the vocabulary with which we can all be bullshitted next and politicians can say "we are doing ... something".

    Got it!

    "overall ability to reach full EU-level situational awareness"

    I anyone in Europe reaches even 10% EU-level situational awareness in anything, powerful telekinetic seers must have been hired.

    "inspired by events such as the blackout in Ukraine in Christmas 2015"

    "Based on a true story" etc.

  5. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    Run properly, what these show is what connections don't exist between countryies to cope.

    So that they can be set up in time for the next case.

    The point about "The Cloud" is well made as PHB types will continue to see the cost savings, regardless of just about every other feature of such a migration.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re: ENISA

    "Organisers have drawn up their conclusions following a pan-European cyberwar exercise. Cyber Europe 2016, the fourth cyber crisis exercise organised by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), is one of the biggest international stress-test exercises to date"

    They wanted to call is Pan-European Union Agency for Network and Information Security, but didn't have the balls to do it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: ENISA

      What is a PEUANIS?

  7. Mason
    FAIL

    Dilbert meets the IT crowd

    That video has to be one of the most nonsensical/ridiculous scaremongering bulls**t videos that I have ever seen. It’s just a load of bureaucracy and tick box exercises.

    It's like Dilbert meets the IT crowd…

    Call me cynical but I see no progress here....

    1. I am the liquor

      Re: Dilbert meets the IT crowd

      You made it sound a lot funnier than it actually was.

      Don't get me wrong, obviously lines like "there are those that do not respect the privacy of our citizens" are bitingly satirical, but it's not quite "damn these electric sex pants."

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Should I be concerned if someone hacks my internet connected toaster?

    What if I can't make toast?

    Does anyone know of any other way to make toast without the internet?

    1. Stumpy

      You should, because what if they could cause it to set alight? Or what if they'd got control of _all_ the toasters, and fridges, etc. and used them to surge the power grid?

      1. GrapeBunch

        Controlling the smart meters themselves will be more work, but so much more rewarding for those intent on raising havoc.

  9. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    "Or what if they'd got control of _all_ the toasters, "

    Already happened if you use some brands of web cam.

    Then they go on to mount a DDOS on some poor ba***rd

  10. Tom Paine
    IT Angle

    Eh?

    It also featured IoT, drones, cloud computing, innovative exfiltration vectors, mobile malware and ransomware.

    Drones? What have drones got to do with the price of fish (or Europe's readiness for CyberGeddon)? Regardless of whether we're talking Hellfire / JDAM toting semi-autonomous lethal killing machines or £200 quadcopters, I just don't see the connection.

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