We got to talking about National Security law, hacktivism, and terrorism. I had been Wired's correspondent on Anonymous, and probably understood The hacktivist collective better than anyone. They had recently tore through the net, hacking companies and governments like they were wet paper towels. I was explaining to my fellow nerds that Anonymous was very similar to Al-Qaeda. Though in form only, not in content.
The victims included a municipal water facility where pressure values were changed, an oil and gas company whose tank gauge was tampered with, and a farm silo where drying temperatures were altered, "resulting in potentially unsafe conditions if not caught on time." Officials stressed these weren't sophisticated, state-sponsored operations but opportunistic intrusions that caused real-world disruption ranging from false alarms to degraded service. The attackers didn't need custom malware or insider access either - just a connection and curiosity.
