PCaaD: Towards automated determination and exploitation of industrial systems

Over the last decade, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) have been increasingly targeted by attackers to obtain control over industrial processes that support critical services. Such attacks typically require detailed knowledge of system-specific attributes, including hardware configurations, adopted protocols, and PLC control-logic, i.e., process comprehension. The consensus from both academics practitioners suggests stealthy comprehension obtained a alone, execute attacks, is impractical. In contrast, we assert current programming practices open door new vulnerability class, affording an increased level To this, propose concept Process Comprehension at Distance (PCaaD), as novel methodological automatable approach towards system-agnostic identification library functions. This leads exfiltration operational data, manipulation control-logic behavior, establishment covert command channels through unused memory. We validate PCaaD on widely used PLCs its practical application.