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Hackers reportedly used an off-the-shelf computer attack created in China to compromise the computers of at least 48 companies, including in the chemical and defense industries -- an attack described as being similar to the notorious Stuxnet virus, if not as severe. The goal of the attacks, reported Monday by security software company Symantec, "appears to be to collect intellectual property such as design documents, formulas, and manufacturing processes." The purpose: "industrial espionage, collecting intellectual property for competitive advantage." Symantec dubbed the attack "Nitro" and said a total of 29 companies in the chemical industry were targeted, in addition to 19 in other sectors, starting in late July. Among the companies were some that develop materials used primarily in military vehicles. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/31/nitro-hackers-reportedly-attack-dozens-companies-in-chemical-defense-industries/?test=latestnews#ixzz1cTIClsp4

This almost reads like something out of a made for TV movie but is real.;-( Federal authorities are concerned about new research showing U.S. prisons are vulnerable to computer hackers, who could remotely open cell doors to aid jailbreaks. The Federal Bureau of Prisons is "aware of this research and taking it very seriously," spokesman Chris Burke told The Washington Times. Mr. Burke was reacting to research by private experts who found that the security systems in most American prisons are run by computer software vulnerable to hackers. "You could open every cell door, and the system would be telling the control room they are all closed," said John J. Strauchs, a former CIA operations officer who helped develop a cyber-attack on a simulated prison computer system and described it at a hackers' convention in Miami last week. The security systems in most American prisons are run by special computer equipment called industrial control systems, or ICS. They are also used to control power plants, water treatment facilities and other critical national infrastructure. ICS has increasingly been targeted by hackers because an attack on one such system successfully sabotaged Iran's nuclear program in 2009.