Idaho Falls , Idaho ( CNN ) -- Forget , for the moment , about computer whiz kids who download copyrighted music for free . Forget , too , about sophisticated hackers who can steal identities . Focus instead on the next wave of potential computer miscreants -- criminals who can penetrate corporate computer systems to turn valves , start pumps or surge power at factories or electrical plants . They might even be able to hit chemical facilities . Those folks are on the minds of the researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory , where the federal government regularly trains industry leaders on how to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattacks . In the not-so-distant past , instructors here say , security officials relied on the `` 3 Gs '' -- guns , gates and guards -- to protect infrastructure from intrusions . But increasingly mechanical systems inside those gates are being linked to computers and controlled via networks and cyberspace . That has left industrial control systems vulnerable to attack . CNN : Hackers take aim at real-world targets . To demonstrate the vulnerability , the Department of Homeland Security and Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls recently showed reporters a cyberattack on a mock-up of a chemical facility . In the exercise , a small group of `` Red Team '' attackers staged an assault on the chemical plant . A larger group of `` Blue Team '' defenders sought to protect that mock-up building , which was constructed of barrel-size containers of water connected by pipes and pumps such as those found in chemical plants . The exercise used concepts that are relevant in the real world . Among them : . Exploiting corporate trust . The Red Team attackers , looking for access to the computer network , do n't look for direct access to the control systems they covet . They know the vulnerability is elsewhere -- most likely in the executive offices of the fictitious chemical company . Executives frequently have access to internal computers networks , so they 'll have timely access to information about productivity , output and information important to the market . They also frequently have access , perhaps indirectly , to networks that link to control systems . Assailants know they can `` exploit the trust relationship . '' Getting a toehold into a system . In the Idaho exercise , Red Team members get a toehold by phishing , a tactic also used by hackers to steal financial or other information . They send an e-mail that appears to be from a friend or a legitimate organization to a representative , which contains malicious software and which opens a link between the sender 's computer and the corporate computer . Subverting a system 's security . Having established a toehold on the chemical company 's computer , the Red Team discovers a surveillance camera in the chemical plant 's control room . The camera , intended to safeguard the chemical plant , can now be turned against it . The Red Team can use the camera to observe the plant 's staffing levels or zoom in on control panels and mechanical devices , gathering information that will help them in their attack . And once the attack is launched , they can each watch their opponent 's response . The 'man in the middle ' In sophisticated attacks , the Red Team can even insert itself between the machine and the machine 's operator . The team can control the amount of water through a pump , while indicating to the machine 's operator that everything remains normal . Red Team-Blue Team exercises typically last between eight to 12 hours , and are followed by a `` hot wash '' in which a `` White Team '' analyzes the attack and reviews ways to prevent attacks and respond to them . Fears of online intrusions on industrial control systems are not theoretical . In a then-classified 2007 demonstration at Idaho , experimenters using computer inputs altered a large electric power generator , causing it to self-destruct . The experiment , known as `` Aurora , '' was the first demonstration that attackers could not only turn a mechanical device on or off but could destroy it . Then in 2010 , a computer worm known as Stuxnet was discovered after it spread indiscriminately but is believed to have targeted equipment used by Iran to enrich uranium . The source of the worm has not been identified . Department of Homeland Security officials say attacks on industrial systems are occurring . Attackers are `` kicking on the doors '' of industrial systems , said Greg Schaffer , acting deputy under secretary of the department 's National Protection and Programs Directorate .
Officials in Idaho train for cyberattacks that could affect the real world . Hackers increasingly attack chemical plants , factories , and treatment plants . Mechanical systems are increasingly linked to computers , making them vulnerable .