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The hardware-software combination that was used to compromise the Iranian nuclear facilities was amazingly old and primitive, though. It truly was a weak link t

The hardware-software combination that was used to compromise the Iranian nuclear facilities was amazingly old and primitive, though. It truly was a weak link that I cannot fathom how this wasn't upgraded looong before. I mean, I guess it just didn't matter that much, after all, it's only a uranium enrichment facility, after all. What could possibly go wrong?

bayindirh 6y ago
You're overestimating SCADA systems (and industrial control systems in particular) about their pace of evolution. Some ideas about the reason they had this particular hardware and software combination: - The SCADA hardware they got was not compatible with newer software which runs on more modern OSes. - The SCADA software didn't have any newer version which runs on newer OSes (Windows 7 and further versions are more restrictive in terms of direct HW access). - Since there are sanctions it was the only hardware and software combo they were able to legally obtain. Industrial control is like automotive industry. Everything is improved in minuscule steps and by encapsulating everything in more modern carriers. A good example is MODBUS. They still carry the same data, the old way. Only thing is it's either encapsulated in USB or TCP/IP. Why? Because it works and allows perfect backward compatibility. Since neither the hardware and the software has to run latest version of Doom (metaphorically), if the application is reliable, it's left as is. Even if it runs on DOS 6.22. Fun fact: There's an auto repair shop in Poland which runs its main application on a C64 [0]. [0]: https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a23139/commodore-64-repair-shop/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a23139/c...