Symantec sees in the last months an increase in the number of cyber attacks on chemical companies. Since July, would be some fifty companies has become the target. Probably were the attackers from the confidential information.
Symantec suspects that industrial espionage is, and that the attackers were out on design documents, and scientific formulas. Approximately fifty companies were between July and september, the victim of malware. Employees received an email in which an important assembly or a necessary software update was announced. In the annex was, however, a trojan, Poison Ivy called.
It is unclear which companies by the attacks hit. From the publication, shows that, especially when it comes to companies in the United States, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. In the Netherlands two computers that are affected. At least one Dutch company is attacked. The targets were, according to Symantec different multinationals from the Forbes 100 list. It would include r&d departments of the chemical companies who also supplies the materials to the army. The security company does not say whether the attacks are successful.
The Japanese defence industry was in september, hit by a cyberattack. There were viruses found on dozens of computers in the various factories of Mitsubishi, where parts for Boeing aircraft, submarines and components for nuclear power plants are made. The attackers, steel in addition to said to be the design of a nuclear power plant and the plans of various army vehicles.
It is unknown who was behind the attacks. They lead in the case of the chemical companies, according to Symantec back to a virtual server in the United States, owned by a Chinese. Nor is known whether or not the alleged attacker acted alone.
Affected servers on the basis of the geographical location