Infrastructure protectionKaspersky Lab working on a secure operating system for critical infrastructure
Antivirus firmKaspersky Lab is set to make a major contribution to the security of critical infrastructure systems by developing an operating system specifically designed for such systems; the new operating system will protect information used in infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, transportation control facilities, gas and electrical systems,and other facilities “criticallyimportant” to the economy and well-being of industrialized societies
Antivirus firmKaspersky Lab is set to make a major contribution to the security of critical infrastructure systems by developing an operating system specifically designed for such systems.
Eugene Kaspersky wants his OS to protect information used in infrastructure such as nuclear power plants, transportation control facilities, gas and electrical systems,and other “critically important” facilities. PCMag reports that the firm is currently in talks with industrial control system operators and vendors.
The KL OS is “highly tailored, developed for solving a specific narrow task,” Kaspersky saidin a blog post, adding that the OS is not intended “for playing Half-Life on, editing your vacation videos, or blathering on social media.”
Kaspersky says he wants his system to keep hackers and invaders from “any behind-the-scenes, undeclared activity.”
“This is the important bit: the impossibility of executing third-party code, or of breaking into the system or running unauthorized applications on our OS; and this is both provable and testable,” Kaspersky wrote.
The security of infrastructure has become paramount in many countries as the threat of attacks – and, in some cases, actual attacks — by terrorists, spies, and the militaries of rival nation-states has increased substantially in recent years. There are growing worries about the ability of foreign countries being able to shut down or severely disrupt systems on which the economies and well-being of industrial countries depend.In his blog post,Kaspersky mentioned a situation in Queensland, Australia in whicha hacker flooded an area with sewage in revenge for a local firm declined to hire him for a position. It took officials months to realize they were hacked.
“This is the important bit: the impossibility of executing third-party code, or of breaking into the system or running unauthorized applications on our OS; and this is both provable and testable,” Kaspersky wrote in his blog.
Kaspersky did not give out many details on the project as he does not want competitors to “jump on our ideas and nick the know-how.” There is no word on when the OS will be completed or when the lab will release it, but Kaspersky said more details will be released in the near future.
