Do not fall for the sensationalist garbage about a computer virus at a German nuke plant
Here are the details you cannot find in one place:
This plant, as far as I can find out, was using SCADA at the time of Fukushima, ripped those systems out because of Fukushima and DEFINITE: Is now using 100 percent old school analog industrial systems without an ounce of computer code to manage everything that generates power and runs the reactors. This nuclear facility is 100 percent immune to a Stuxnet type attack. Good. Perhaps the Fukushima report made a difference.
Since Germans are at the forefront of practically everything, it would be logical for them to be the first to go back to analog. And believe me, there is NOTHING wrong with analog, I have worked with both analog and digital industrial systems and quite frankly, the analog ones are better. But people with limited skills can get anything to work quickly with the digital systems, without really knowing what is actually going on because the computer handles it.
Well built analog systems are usually far more reliable than digital systems and can function perfectly for decades without fail. But you need serious skills to repair and design analog systems, and usually every analog system has to be custom made for a job. No problem for any company that actually gets a real engineer when it pays for one.
Digital systems are perfect for companies that have common core type idiots in the hiring department, who cannot figure out who is really qualified because absolutely anyone can install, program, and operate them if they can at least hold a screwdriver. And there are many digital systems that are not full PLC that can auto tune any industrial system if you can at least give them a few reference points. No real engineer needed. Those could be installed by a janitor who was at least able to follow directions and properly assemble a piece of Ikea furniture. So digital systems won the mainstream, but analog systems, in my opinion, are still the only thing that should be used with anything dangerous because you can't get a virus in them, they just are what they are. ANYWAY -
This German nuclear facility is 100 percent stuxnet proof because it is 100 percent analog. So many news outlets, to make up a story worth reading, are saying the breach helped ISIS get nuclear secrets (because the facility could not actually be attacked no matter how bad any breach was.) But here's the kicker - There is no internet there. All that happened was employees got a few computers infected with viruses and malware from flash drives they carried in, and there was no way for anything to "phone home" because there was no connection available. This means that there was NO WAY "ISIS" could have exploited this situation. In short, there was no situation.
They shut the reactors down anyway. That order definitely came from "common core" in the front office, who did not understand what an analog system is. ANYWAY, you can go back to bed now, there is no doom possible, and there never was. Good for Germany.
And, as a final point, just because they are using analog "brains" does not mean there are analog needles everywhere, everything will go to digital displays and controls so the systems will still look digital. But the digital readouts are only readouts, the digital portion of the controls are only brainless buttons and there is no computer code in them. It is better to go digital with that portion of the process because it works better and is still virus proof. Old fashioned TTL could get a lot done without an ounce of computer code.
Germany went a step beyond Fukushima protocols, and eliminated the PLC altogether. GOOD. The janitor might succeed, but it would probably be best to not have him do it.
--Mexican Anonymous
Here are the details you cannot find in one place:
This plant, as far as I can find out, was using SCADA at the time of Fukushima, ripped those systems out because of Fukushima and DEFINITE: Is now using 100 percent old school analog industrial systems without an ounce of computer code to manage everything that generates power and runs the reactors. This nuclear facility is 100 percent immune to a Stuxnet type attack. Good. Perhaps the Fukushima report made a difference.
Since Germans are at the forefront of practically everything, it would be logical for them to be the first to go back to analog. And believe me, there is NOTHING wrong with analog, I have worked with both analog and digital industrial systems and quite frankly, the analog ones are better. But people with limited skills can get anything to work quickly with the digital systems, without really knowing what is actually going on because the computer handles it.
Well built analog systems are usually far more reliable than digital systems and can function perfectly for decades without fail. But you need serious skills to repair and design analog systems, and usually every analog system has to be custom made for a job. No problem for any company that actually gets a real engineer when it pays for one.
Digital systems are perfect for companies that have common core type idiots in the hiring department, who cannot figure out who is really qualified because absolutely anyone can install, program, and operate them if they can at least hold a screwdriver. And there are many digital systems that are not full PLC that can auto tune any industrial system if you can at least give them a few reference points. No real engineer needed. Those could be installed by a janitor who was at least able to follow directions and properly assemble a piece of Ikea furniture. So digital systems won the mainstream, but analog systems, in my opinion, are still the only thing that should be used with anything dangerous because you can't get a virus in them, they just are what they are. ANYWAY -
This German nuclear facility is 100 percent stuxnet proof because it is 100 percent analog. So many news outlets, to make up a story worth reading, are saying the breach helped ISIS get nuclear secrets (because the facility could not actually be attacked no matter how bad any breach was.) But here's the kicker - There is no internet there. All that happened was employees got a few computers infected with viruses and malware from flash drives they carried in, and there was no way for anything to "phone home" because there was no connection available. This means that there was NO WAY "ISIS" could have exploited this situation. In short, there was no situation.
They shut the reactors down anyway. That order definitely came from "common core" in the front office, who did not understand what an analog system is. ANYWAY, you can go back to bed now, there is no doom possible, and there never was. Good for Germany.
And, as a final point, just because they are using analog "brains" does not mean there are analog needles everywhere, everything will go to digital displays and controls so the systems will still look digital. But the digital readouts are only readouts, the digital portion of the controls are only brainless buttons and there is no computer code in them. It is better to go digital with that portion of the process because it works better and is still virus proof. Old fashioned TTL could get a lot done without an ounce of computer code.
Germany went a step beyond Fukushima protocols, and eliminated the PLC altogether. GOOD. The janitor might succeed, but it would probably be best to not have him do it.
--Mexican Anonymous