Most critical cyber attacks
Welcome to our page on the “Most critical cyber attacks“! Here, you’ll find detailed information about cyber attacks categorized with severity scores ranging from 3 to 5, as classified by TI Safe.
Dive into a world of critical infrastructure cyber threats, where each entry unveils the complexities and impacts of these high-risk incidents.
| ID | Date | Year | Source Database | Intentional | Origin | Attack vector | Attack Description | Country | Industry Type | Subcategory | Attack Details | TI Safe Score | CIRA | SCIDMARK Score | SCID id | Impact | Link at the Internet | Malware Name | MITRE ATT&CK Software ID [if exists] | Duration | Ransom Value (USD) | Paid (Y/N) | Suggested security initiative | |||||
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| wdt_ID | wdt_created_by | wdt_created_at | wdt_last_edited_by | wdt_last_edited_at | ID | Date | Year | Source Database | Intentional | Origin | Attack vector | Attack Description | Country | Industry Type | Subcategory | Attack Details | TI Safe Score | CIRA | SCIDMARK Score | SCID id | Impact | Link at the Internet | Malware Name | MITRE ATT&CK Software ID [if exists] | Duration | Ransom Value (USD) | Paid (Y/N) | Suggested security initiative |
| 1 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 1 | 01/06/1982 | 1982 | RISI | Not Intentional | External | Malware infection | [1] Trojan Attack. | Russia | Chemical and Farmaceutic industry sector | Oil and Gas | Thomas Reed, senior US national security official, claims in his book “At The Abyss” that the United States allowed the USSR to steal pipeline control software from a Canadian company. This software included a Trojan Horse that caused a major explosion of | 5 | The software sabotage had two effects, explains Reed. The first was economic. By creating an explosion with the power of a three kiloton nuclear weapon, the US disrupted supplies of gas and consequential foreign currency earnings. But the project also had | https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/02/opinion/the-farewell-dossier.html | |||||||||
| 2 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 2 | 12/08/1985 | 1985 | RISI | Not Intentional | Accident | Errors, omissions or misuse | (Union Carbide Chemical Leak West Virginia.) [1] Interruption of services. | United States | Chemical and Farmaceutic industry sector | Chemical | The Institute facility leaked methylene chloride and aldicarb oxime, chemicals used to manufacture the pesticide Temik. The leak resulted from a computer program that was not yet programmed to recognize aldicarb oxime, compounded by human error when the o | 5 | One hundred and thirty four people were were sent to the hospital, six of whom where Union Carbide employees. Thirty people filed two lawsuits seeking $88 million in damages, but hundreds of people marched in support of the company. OSHA proposed fines | https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/12/us/toxic-cloud-leaks-at-carbide-plant-in-west-virginia.html | |||||||||
| 3 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 3 | 01/01/1989 | 1989 | RISI | Not Intentional | Accident | Errors, omissions or misuse | (Oil Company SCADA System Impacted by RF Interference.) | United States | Chemical and Farmaceutic industry sector | Oil and Gas | In 1989 a SCADA sytem was being prepared for an oil company in Houston Texas. All the remote telemetry units were communicating with the master station computer via low power Johnson radios. The dummy loads on all of the antennae were used to cut down the | 3 | |||||||||||
| 4 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 4 | 01/01/1991 | 1991 | RISI | Intentional | Accident | Errors, omissions or misuse | (Computer Error at Sellafield Nuclear Plant in UK.) [1] Interruption of services. [2] Obstruction of communication signals. | England | Energy sector | Energy | A computer error at the vitrification plant resulted in two shielding doors being left open while highly radioactive material was still inside one chamber. (#2) | 5 | Production at the facility was stopped and did not resume until cause of the accident was established. No one was exposed to radiation during the incident. (#2) | ||||||||||
| 5 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 5 | 01/01/1992 | 1992 | RISI | Not Intentional | Internal | Malware infection | (Computer Sabotage at Nuclear Power Plant.) | Lithuania | Sector and Production Systems | Nuclear Power Plant | A computer programmer at the Ignalina Power Reactor Sation in Lithuania introduced a virus into one of the stations computers in an attempt to sabotage a reactor at the plant by introducing a virus into the computer system. Oleg Savchuk was arrested on a | 3 | Nuclear plant computer was infected with a virus. There was a station shutdown, though it was reported to be coincidental and not caused by the virus. Oleg Savchuk was arrested for premeditated sabotage. | ||||||||||
| 6 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 6 | 01/01/1994 | 1994 | RISI | Intentional | Accident | Errors, omissions or misuse | (Computer Software Faults May Have Caused Chinook Helicopter Crash.) [1] Operational, in Computer, Devices or in Comunication, fail. | England | Transport sector and systems | Transportation Systems | The Chinook Mark 2 helicopter crashed on June 2, 1994 killing all 29 people on board. Initially, the pilots were blamed for the incident. Later, it was concluded that the exact cause of the accident was impossible to establish. The BBC received interna | 4 | The Chinook Helicopter crashed killing all 29 people on board. New evidence casts doubt on the airworthiness of the helicpoter. A report prepared nine months before the crash indicated there may be problems with the engine control computer software. | ||||||||||
| 7 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 7 | 02/01/1994 | 1994 | RISI | Not Intentional | Hybrid | Unauthorized access | (Salt River Project Hack.) [1]Interception of convenient information. [2]Unauthorized access a Systems, Files and Devices. | United States | Energy sector | Energy | Between July 8th and August 31st, 1994, the perpetrator, Lane Jarret Davis, accessed a computer or computers belonging to the Salt River Project via a dialup modem on a backup computer. He was able to access data and delete files on systems responsible fo | 4 | The impacts reported on this incident are very contradictory. According to probation records (#1) Davis was able to access the canal control SCADA system for at least 5 hours, as well as accessing customer, financial and personnel records. SRP estimated t | ||||||||||
| 8 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 8 | 24/07/1994 | 1994 | SCIDMARK | Not Intentional | Accident | Errors, omissions or misuse | (An explosion, followed by a number of fires, occurred at 13.23 on Sunday 24 July 1994, on the Pembroke Cracking Company plant (PCC) at the Texaco Refinery, Pembroke. Two companies occupied the site.) | United Kingdom | Agriculture, food and beverage | Oil and Gas | The incident was caused by flammable hydrocarbon liquid being continuously pumped into a process vessel that had its outlet closed | 3 | http://scid.infracritical.com/pages/scid-00013′>00013 | The customer’s core business output, key applications, or mission-critical systems have been interrupted or have been so severely impacted that the company cannot continue to operate in a reasonable manner. | http://scid.infracritical.com/pages/scid-00013/ | ||||||||
| 9 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 9 | 01/01/1995 | 1995 | RISI | Not Intentional | Internal | Errors, omissions or misuse | (PLCs Crashed by IT Audit.) [1] Humann Error. [2] Adulteration or alteration in architecture of physical devices and of software. [3] Operational, in Computer, Devices or Comunication, fail. | United States | Agricultural sector | Agriculture, food and beverage | A security consultant was scanning the food companies business and process networks for vulnerabilities. Probe packets containing deliberately malformed entered the Ethernet-based process control network and caused all PLCs to hard fault. The packets cont | 5 | The loss of production was estimated to be over $1,000,000 USD | ||||||||||
| 10 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 10 | 02/01/1995 | 1995 | RISI | Not Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | (Oakland Air-Traffic Control Center Outage.) [1] Operational, in Computer, Devices or Comunication, fail. [2] Interrupption of services. | United States | Transport sector and systems | Transportation Systems | One of the three power sources was down for testing and maintenance at the time of the episode. The second power source failed unexpectedly. When technicians attempted to bring the third power source on-line, a faulty circuit board in Critical Power Panel | 5 | All radar and radio communications at Oakland Center were shut down as the result of a 45-minute power outage. All radar screens went dark and all radio communications were cut off. Lights and telephones were unaffected. It took 45 minutes to restore radi | ||||||||||
| 11 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 11 | 01/01/1996 | 1996 | RISI | Not Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | (Duplicate IP Address Prevents Machine Startup.) | Canada | Sector and Production Systems | Pulp and Paper | The mill had upgraded the profile controller on the #1 Paper Machine to a control system that used Ethernet and TCP/IP to communicate between the scanners and the main controller. It was also connected to the main mill network through a bridge so that pr | 3 | The paper machine could not be started for over six hours. | ||||||||||
| 12 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 12 | 02/01/1996 | 1996 | RISI | Not Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | (Omega Engineering Sabotage.) [1] Human Error. [2] Interruption of services. | United States | Manufacturing and automation sector | Critical Manufacturing | The morning of July 31, 1996, the first worker in the door at Omega Engineering’s manufacturing plant in Bridgeport, N.J., logged on to his computer and unwittingly detonated a software time bomb that systematically eradicated all the programs that ran th | 5 | Omega suffered $12 million in damages and lost its competitive footing in the high-tech instrument and measurement market. Eighty workers lost their jobs as a result. “We will never recover,” said plant manager Jim Ferguson. After the system went down, i | ||||||||||
| 13 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 13 | 01/01/1997 | 1997 | RISI | Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | (Wrong Code Downloaded to PLC Causes Plant to Shutdown.) | England | Agricultural sector | Agriculture, food and beverage | When making minor changes to a PLC program, the PLC and Slave PLC were loaded with the new program and made the Master. The new Slave, previously the Master, was also loaded halfway through this download. The Master PLC stopped working and the plant was s | 3 | The plant was shutdown for 1 | ||||||||||
| 14 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 14 | 02/01/1997 | 1997 | RISI | Not Intentional | External | System, device, software or operating failure | (Worcester Air Traffic Communications System Hack.) [1] Interruption of services. [2] Obstruction of communication signals. [3] Operational, in Computer, Devices or in Comunication | United States | Transport sector and systems | Transportation Systems | On March 10, 1997, an unidentified juvenile computer hacker broke into a Bell Atlantic control system used for the air traffic communications at the Worcester, Massachusetts airport, causing a system crash that disabled the phone system at the airport for | 4 | The crash of the NGDLC system knocked out phone service at the control tower, airport security, the airport fire department, the weather service, and carriers that use the airport. Also, the tower’s main radio transmitter and another transmitter that acti | ||||||||||
| 15 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 15 | 03/01/1997 | 1997 | RISI | Not Intentional | Accident | Errors, omissions or misuse | (Korean Air Line B747 CFIT Accident in Guam.) [1] Human Error. [2] Interruption of services. | Guam | Transport sector and systems | Transportation Systems | Approaching Won Pat International Airport at night, Korean Air Lines Flight 801 impacted Nimitz Hill at 658ft, nearly 800ft below the minimum altitude at that point on the approach. While initially the accident seemed to have little to do with automated | 4 | There were 254 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft; 228 lost their lives. | ||||||||||
| 16 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 18 | 05/01/1998 | 1998 | RISI | Intentional | External | System, device, software or operating failure | (Hackers Attack NZ & Aust for Joining Gulf Taskforce.) [1] Interruption of services. | New Zealand | Energy sector | Energy | The following FICTITIOUS news paper article opened Parliament of Australian Research Paper 18 1997-98: ================================================ Hackers Attack NZ & Aust for Joining Gulf Taskforce AZP London: A hacker group calling themselves the | 4 | While Auckland did suffer from severe power blackouts in Febrary 1998, this incident is NOT factual. | ||||||||||
| 17 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 19 | 01/01/1999 | 1999 | RISI | Not Intentional | Hybrid | System, device, software or operating failure | (Power Outages and Other Service Interruptions.) [1] Interruption of services. | United States | Energy sector | Energy | A former computer systems administrator, Joseph D. Konopka, hacked into computers and caused power failures in WI. Konopka, also known as ‘Dr. Chaos’, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on 11 felony charges for crimes in WI. He was responisble for 28 pow | 5 | Twenty eight power outages and 20 other service interruptions causing about $800,000 in damage in 13 Wisconsin counties. | ||||||||||
| 18 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 20 | 02/01/1999 | 1999 | RISI | Not Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | (Y2K Test Crashes Reactor Computer.) [1] Human Error. [2] Interruption of services. [3] Operational, in Computer or in Commucation, fail. | United States | Energy sector | Energy | The problem began just after lunch on Feb. 8, when a group of technicians tested a computer called the “Rodworth Minimizer.” The unit, which operates when the reactor is at low power, analyzes the position of “control rods” in the core and tells engineers | 3 | |||||||||||
| 19 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 21 | 03/01/1999 | 1999 | RISI | Intentional | Natural | System, device, software or operating failure | (Olympic Pipeline Rupture and Subsequent Fire.) [1] Interruption of services and operation. [2] Adulteration or alteration in architecture of physical devices and of software [3] Operational, in Computer or in Communication fail | United States | Transportation Systems | Oil and Gas | At about 3:28 pm PDT, a 16 inch diameter steel pipeline ruptured and released about 237,000 gallons of gasoline into a creek that flowed through Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham, WA. About 1 1/2 hours after the rupture, the gasoline ignited and burned app | 5 | Two 10 year old boys and an 18 year old young man died as a result of the accident. Eight additional injuries were documented. A single-family residence and the city’s water treatment plant were severly damaged. Fines and litigation could bring the total | ||||||||||
| 20 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 22 | 04/01/1999 | 1999 | RISI | Not Intentional | External | Malware infection | (Virus Infection On DCS.) [1] Virus Attack. [2] Interruption of services and operation. | England | Agricultural sector | Agriculture, food and beverage | Data on the HMI server was being corrupted, this data caused the system to slow and eventually stop. On investigation, it was discovered that the R&T server (in the same domain) had been infected and was totally unusable – unlike the control servers which | 4 | A group of 7 people spent the week cleaning, rechecking, re-cleaning and installing anti-virus software. This prevented the normal day to day work being carried out and delayed a commissioning job of a new plant. There were problems with ownership of the | 7 days | |||||||||
| 21 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 24 | 06/01/1999 | 1999 | RISI | Not Intentional | External | Unauthorized access | Hacker Takes Over Russian Gas System [1] Trojan Attack [2] Unauthorized access of softwares, systems, network and devices | Russia | Oil and Gas | Oil and Gas | According to a Associated Press news release, in 1999 a hacker took over control of a Russian gas system by penetrating the Gazprom (Russia’s state-run gas monopoly) SCADA system.(#1). National Petroleum Council report seems to confirm this, but it may j | 4 | Loss of control of the SCADA system | ||||||||||
| 22 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 25 | 17/02/1999 | 1999 | SCIDMARK | Not Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | An explosion destroyed the boiler of Hawthorn Unit #5, a coal-fired generating unit. [1] Interruption of services and operation [2] Adulteration or alteration in architecture of physical devices and of software | United States | Energy sector | Energy | On February 17, 1999 at approximately 00:30 am Central, an explosion destroyed the boiler of Hawthorn Unit #5, a 476 megawatt coal-fired generating unit. The explosion hit an 11-story boiler building. | 4 | 98.39 | http://scid.infracritical.com/pages/scid-00008/ | The explosion caused most of the building to collapse, but caused only a minor injury. The explosion caused no interruption of electrical service for the utility’s customers. The explosion at KCP&L’s Hawthorn Unit #5 plant on February 17, 1999 caused the | ||||||||
| 23 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 26 | 01/01/2000 | 2000 | RISI | Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | Accidental Remote Control [1] Interruption of services and operation | Sweden | Manufacturing and automation sector | Critical Manufacturing | A simulation device located in the UK and identical to that installed in the running plant was also given the same communication parameters as were used on the plant device. Eventually the device in the UK assumed control. | 5 | Approximately 4 hours production loss. | ||||||||||
| 24 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 28 | 04/01/2000 | 2000 | RISI | Intentional | Accident | System, device, software or operating failure | Accidental Remote Uploading of PLC Program [1] Human Error. [2] Interruption of services and operation | Canada | Chemical and Farmaceutic industry sector | Oil and Gas | A testing and programming facility for the petroleum company’s PLCs was setup by an engineering consultant in a remote city. An engineer who had just returned from the plant site used his laptop to connect to a PLC he believed was in his office. Instead t | 5 | The petroleum company lost approximately 1/2 day of operations and about 10,000 barrels of production. | ||||||||||
| 25 | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | marianna.ferreira@tisafe.com | 28/05/2024 04:39 PM | 29 | 01/01/2001 | 2001 | RISI | Not Intentional | External | System, device, software or operating failure | Hackers Target Cal – ISO System [1] Human Error [2] Interruption of services and operation [3] Adulteration or alteration of physical devices and of software | United States | Energy sector | Energy | Like the Salt River Project incident, this incident appears to be rampant with conflicting information. The best data we have is that a relatively inexperienced hacker was able to exploit two Solaris servers that were were part of a development network at | 3 | “There was an obvious attempt made to penetrate our systems,” said Greg Fishman, spokesman for Cal-ISO, who would not give any more details. “They were able to achieve minimal penetration into a system that we use to demonstrate software. This was never a |
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