Siemens’ official stance is unambiguous:
In 2022, a European automation integrator downloaded an EKB installer from a forum. The tool contained a bootloader virus that infected the entire engineering network, wiping HMI backups and costing €150,000 in recovery and downtime.
He opened a battered laptop, the one he usually reserved for legacy diagnostics. On the cracked desktop, an icon stared back: SIMATIC_EKB_Install_2022.exe . A tool the Siemens manuals never mentioned. A ghost in the machine.