BRUSSELS (The Thursday Times) — Hackers ne superstores ko nuqsan pahunchane ka aik naya tareeqa dhoond liya hai: woh thandak band kar dete hain. Taqreeban teen maheenon mein freezers ke kharab hone ka silsila US ke fauji stores, France ke sainkron supermarkets aur ab saat mazeed European mulkon ki dukanon tak pahunch chuka hai, aur kisi ne yeh nahin bataya ke yeh kaun kar raha hai.
Kya hua
August mein, California ke Fort Irwin se le kar Georgia ke Robins Air Force Base tak, US ke aadha darjan se zyada fauji commissaries mein freezers kharab ho gaye. Pentagon ke criminal investigators mushtarka tehqeeqat ki qiyadat kar rahe hain aur ahalkar ise mumkina cyberattack ke taur par dekh rahe hain, lekin abhi tak is baat ka koi saboot nahin ke yeh cyberattack tha, ya yeh ke baad mein pesh aane wale waqiat se is ka koi taalluq hai.
11 October ki raat hackers ne France ke sainkron supermarkets, jin mein Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarché aur Coopérative U shamil hain, ke refrigeration controls par qabza kar liya. Darja-e-hararat barh kar 50 degree Celsius tak pahunch gaya, khana kharab ho gaya aur kai stores mein aag bhi lag gayi. Paris ke prosecutor ne ise "bare paimane ka" hamla qarar diya.
Peer ko yeh aik baar phir hua, is baar Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, Netherlands, Estonia aur Finland mein darjanon stores par. Belgium mein Delhaize ki sirf aik shaakh ne bataya ke us ka 1 lakh euro ka taza saman zaya ho gaya.
Freezer ko hack kaise kiya jata hai?
Bare stores apne cold rooms chhote controllers ke zariye chalate hain jin tak online rasai mumkin hoti hai, taake engineers kharabiyan door se theek kar sakein. Kai chains yeh kaam bahar ke contractors par chhor deti hain. France ke ahalkar ki taraf se jari aik alert mein Danfoss, Copeland aur Dixell controllers ka naam liya gaya, aur kaha gaya ke mutasira units purane firmware par chal rahe thay jis tak hackers internet ke zariye pahunch sakte thay.
Andar pahunchne ke baad hamla karne walon ko kuch todne ki zaroorat nahin padi. Unhon ne units ko raat ke dauran defrost mode par kar diya, jab dukanein band hoti hain. Stockholm mein aik store par hamla raat 2 baje hua aur subah 5.30 baje tak is ka pata nahin chala.
"Jab koi hamla karne wala un controls ko chala sakta hai, toh defrosting jaise jaiz functions khalal daalne ke auzar ban jate hain," cybersecurity firm SentinelOne ke Tom Hegel ne kaha. "Setting tabdeel karne se haqeeqi stock tabah ho sakta hai, sirf computer system mein khalal nahin parta."
Is ke peechhe kaun hai?
Koi nahin jaanta. Kisi ne zimmedari qabool nahin ki aur kisi hukumat ne mulzim ka naam nahin liya. Security researcher Ken Munro ne kaha hai ke France mein hone wala hamla itna saada tha ke woh "bachchon ki shararat" ho sakta tha, agarche Russia aur Iran jaise mulk bhi yeh salahiyat rakhte hain.
European Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen ne in hamlon ko khurak ki faraahmi mein "jaan boojh kar khalal daalne ki koshish" aur awami etemad ko kamzor karne ki koshish qarar diya. Yooropi hukumaton ne takhreebkari ke barhte hue waqiat ka ilzam Russia par lagaya hai, jis se Moscow inkar karta hai.
Yeh kyun ahem hai, aur stores kya kar sakte hain
Zyada tar cyberattacks ka izala mumkin hai. Is qism ka nahin. "Aap in freezers mein rakhi khurak ya doosri masnooat ko dobara qabil-e-istemal nahin bana sakte. Yeh sirf euro aur dollar ka zaya hona hai," Virginia Commonwealth University ke Christopher Whyte ne kaha.
Jin iqdamat par zor diya ja raha hai, woh bunyadi hain: controllers ko khule internet se hata dein, sirf mehfooz link ke zariye connect karein, aur software update karein. Sweden ke cybersecurity sarbarah ne kaha ke un ke idare ko wahan bohat se khule hue devices mile hain aur unhon ne malikon se kaha ke unhein patch karein. Britain mein, jahan kisi hamle ki ittila nahin aayi, mohaqqiqeen ko retailers se jure 800 se zyada refrigeration aur building-control systems mile, jin tak online rasai mumkin thi. Belgium ki aik refrigeration company ke sarbarah ne kaha ke kuch units mein jismani tabdeeliyon ki bhi zaroorat hai.
Hegel ne kaha ke retailers ke liye bara sawal yeh hai ke zimmedari kis ki hai: "us saz-o-saman ki hifazat ka malik kaun hai, sirf yeh nahin ke us ki marammat kaun karta hai".
Pakistan mein kisi superstore par hamle ki khabar nahin aayi. Is baat ka bhi koi suboot nahin ke gharon ke fridge ko nishana banaya ja raha hai, albatta maahireen mashwara dete hain ke kisi bhi connected device ko update rakha jaye.
