SCADA & PLCs in Correctional Facilities: The Nightmare Before Christmas

On Christmas Eve, a call was made from a prison warden: all of the cells on death row popped open. Many prisons and jails use SCADA systems with PLCs to open and close doors. Not sure why or if it would happen, the warden called physical security design engineer, John Strauchs, to investigate. As a result of their Stuxnet research, Rad and Newman have discovered significant vulnerabilities in PLCs used in correctional facilities by being able to remotely flip the switches to "open" or "locked closed" on cell doors and gates. Using original and publicly available exploits along with evaluating vulnerabilities in electronic and physical security designs, this talk will evaluate and demo SCADA systems and PLC vulnerabilities in correctional and government secured facilities while recommending solutions.

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