This sounds like promising research for those that have list muscle tissue to fires, accidents and disease. I could care less about eating "Soylent" meat (there may be some interesting new flavors) I just hope this can help some of those that have been horribly hurt and maimed.
Was "Microsoft" (as in management) even involved? Most likely it was some guy toiling away in the MS bowels that found this and simply opened a bug tracking ticket (from the announcement:
[Credit: Thanks to Billy Rios and Microsoft Vulnerability Research (MSVR) and also to Lostmon for finding and reporting this vulnerability responsibly.]
it's hard to tell who is resopnsible).
Is that Billy Rios of MSVR or Billy Rios and MSVR. Anyway, once the patch came out I'm sure MS marketing was all over it.
So just like you or I would simply open an incident and do reponsible disclosure I'm willing to bet that's all that happened here.
Many of these systems are locked in sheds alongside the larger transformer/switching sites. Cut the padlock and you have access to a Windows 2000 SCADA system that is on their SCADA network. Many of these also have modems and PCAnywhere. It really is scary.
Anyone that knows anything about the utility systems (power, water, gas, sewer) knows they are run by the most insecure systems out there. There have been reports of SCADA vulnerabilities for years (GOOGLE it yourself) and many concerns expressed (http://www.darkreading.com/blog/archives/2009/04/scada_security.html).
Once someone can get out of a compromised system and onto a utilities internal SCADA network they have total control. The best place to practice is on a relatively insecure 2nd or 3rd world network where there are few legal consequences to hacking. Once the skills are honed up and scripts can be written to control large numbers of SCADA systems at once the real fun can begin. This is one of the major objectives of terrorists (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cyberwar/vulnerable/scada.html).
I want nano-LEDs that can set themselves up between the rods and cones in my eye. Then the resolution will be at the max that my eye can see and my eyes can glow in the dark!
We need comprehensive data privacy laws...forcing companies to keep it private and delete it as soon as it is no longer needed, and laws giving us the right to delete our data from third-party sites...We need international cooperation to ensure that companies cannot flaunt data privacy laws simply by moving themselves offshore."
Read Cryptonomicon http://www.amazon.com/Cryptonomicon-Neal-Stephenson/dp/product-description/0060512806 for a much deeper look into privacy issues.
"Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love." -- Albert Einstein
