One day, the cybersecurity monitoring center of an oil and gas company received a series of alarm signals indicating abnormal behavior in some of its production control systems. After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that certain critical control nodes were receiving abnormal commands from the internal network, suspected to be an external attacker attempting to inject malicious code to alter the critical parameter settings of these nodes. This situation directly threatened the continuity and safety of production and could potentially lead to severe physical damage or environmental disasters.
In response to this sudden security threat, the company’s cybersecurity emergency response team quickly activated the emergency plan and utilized various features of the WebGaze tool for rapid response and handling:
-
Proxy Interception To immediately stop further attack attempts, the team first enabled the “Proxy Interception” feature of WebGaze, monitoring network traffic in real-time and configuring rules to capture any abnormal commands.
-
Log Review The team then used the “Log Review” feature of WebGaze to collect detailed network, system, and application logs from the affected systems. By filtering through these logs, they focused particularly on activities during the abnormal time periods, including the sources of abnormal requests, altered parameters, and specific actions taken by the attacker. Based on this information, the team was able to trace the attacker’s entry point and assess whether there was a risk of lateral movement. Additionally, by comprehensively evaluating the damage, the team decided whether to isolate the infected devices to prevent further escalation.
-
Fuzz Testing Finally, for the critical nodes confirmed to be at risk, the team conducted in-depth security testing using the “Fuzz Testing” feature of WebGaze. They selected interfaces that could potentially become attack targets as test subjects and configured relevant parameters for SQL injection, command injection, and other tests. During the testing process, various potential attack scenarios were simulated, and the system’s responses were closely monitored. Based on the test results, the team quickly patched the identified vulnerabilities and updated the system configurations to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.
This incident not only highlights the severe security challenges faced by industrial control systems but also demonstrates the efficiency and reliability of the WebGaze tool in addressing complex cybersecurity threats. By promptly implementing effective defensive measures, the company successfully avoided a security crisis that could have led to significant losses, ensuring the continuity and safety of the production process. This also provides an important reference case for other industrial enterprises, illustrating how to leverage advanced cybersecurity tools and technologies to enhance their protective capabilities.