Incident Response, TDR

Foreign hackers briefly commandeer German missile systems

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A German missile system was reportedly hacked and taken over by unknown foreign attackers who executed “unexplained commands.”

German trade publication Behörden Spiegel wrote that the Patriot missiles system, stationed on the Turkey/Syria border, was either accessed through a computer chip that guides missiles or through a real-time information exchange that allows missiles and their control system to communicate.

Although the publication didn't explicitly list the executed commands, experts have said a hack could lead to a battery failing to intercept missiles, or could result in a missile firing at an unintended target. Such an attack could also allow hacker to steal sensitive information.

A spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of Defense denied the hacking report and said it lacked evidence.

This missile battery consists of six launchers and two radars.

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