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Thread: Has power grid been hacked? U.S. won't say

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    Angry Has power grid been hacked? U.S. won't say

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. concerns about the potential for cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure extended to the American electrical power grid on Wednesday and experts pointed the finger anew at Chinese hackers, among others.

    U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters the power grid is vulnerable to potentially disabling computer attacks, while declining to comment on reports that an intrusion had taken place.

    "The vulnerability is something that the Department of Homeland Security and the energy sector have known about for years," she said. "We acknowledge that ... in this world, in an increasingly cyber world, these are increasing risks."

    Napolitano spoke after the Wall Street Journal reported that cyberspies had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system.

    The Journal said the intruders have not sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure but could try during a crisis or war.

    The United States for several years has accused the Chinese and Russians, among others, of using cyber-attacks to try to steal American trade secrets, military secrets and government secrets.

    The Chinese have been particularly active, a former U.S. security official told Reuters.

    "They are all over the place," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "They're getting into university systems, contractor systems, hacking government systems. There's no reason to think that the electrical system would be immune as well."

    Eric Rosenbach, executive director for research at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government's Belfer Center, said that if true, it showed that the Chinese and Russians are thinking strategically about how to either constrain the United States or inflict more damage if they ever felt they needed to do so.

    'POTENTIAL WEAKNESS'

    "I think that China recognizes if in a very strategic sense you want to ensure you have the ability to exploit another country's potential weakness or vulnerability but do it in a way that isn't confrontational or cause an international crisis, then this is a very good way of doing that," he said.

    President Barack Obama, aware of the concerns about the vulnerability of infrastructure, has launched a cyber review that is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

    "The president takes the issue of cybersecurity very seriously, which is why he ordered a top-to-bottom review shortly after taking office," said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro.

    He said the White House was not aware of "any disruptions to the power grid caused by deliberate cyber-activity here in the United States."

    "The Department of Homeland Security works with industry to identify vulnerabilities and to help industry enhance the security of control system networks. The federal government is also working to ensure that security is built in as we develop the next generation of 'smart grid' networks," Shapiro said.

    Mississippi Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, said he would introduce legislation to address the grid's vulnerability to cyber-attack.

    "Our electric system is critical to our way of life, and we cannot afford to leave it vulnerable to attack. Our oversight indicates there is a significant gap in current regulation to effectively secure this infrastructure," he said.

    The United States is not alone. CIA analyst Tom Donahue told a power-industry conference last year that "we have information from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber-intrusion into utilities followed by extortion demands."

    The North American Electric Reliability Corp, the industry group with responsibility for grid reliability and security for the United States and Canada, said it was unaware of any cyber-attacks that have led to disruptions of electric service. The group has been working for several years with the industry to create and implement cybersecurity measures.

    "NERC and industry leaders are taking steps in the right direction to improve preparedness and response to potential cyberthreats," the group said. "There is definitely more to be done."

    American Electric Power Co spokeswoman Melissa McHenry said the utility takes security and reliability of the grid seriously.

    "We long ago identified that there are numerous scans and probes of our networks from external sources and have put in place a very comprehensive multilayered security system to protect it from internal and external intrusion attempts," she said.

    Still, she said, "We realize that there are no guarantees that you can always be completely safe from a cyber-attack. We continually monitor the effectiveness of our systems and seek to enhance them."

    (Additional reporting by David Alexander in Washington, Michael Erman in New York and Eileen O'Grady in Houston; Editing by Will Dunham)

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    Quote Originally Posted by vandeleur View Post
    E- Jesus . Playing both sides because he didnt understand the argument in the first place

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    The corporate utilities hijack the grid themselves. Remember what ENRON did to the West Coast? And that odd blackout a couple years later when half the Central time zone went down for no apparent reason?
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    I was watching a show on Front Line PBS about this very thing. We have been hacked, our electrical grid and other private utilities are very vulnerable, too. The problem is most of our basic necessities are controled by privately owned companies. The government has very little to do with these companies and would have a hard time imposing tighter security requirements for these companies. These companies know they are vulnerable but the cost to secure their services would cut too deep into the bottom line.

    This is another example of private companies that supply basic needs for every American, that has no real over sight by our government.

    Before you Righties start bleating about Socialism and all your other bullshit, answer this question for me. What use is having any government, if the government can't regulate and keep secure at least the basic necessities for our modern lives. I'm all for a smaller government but I want a government that will be effective, too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Satan View Post
    The corporate utilities hijack the grid themselves. Remember what ENRON did to the West Coast? And that odd blackout a couple years later when half the Central time zone went down for no apparent reason?
    Yes I do, your Unholiness. Do you get PBS in the Netherworld? Here's a great program on this issue.

    frontline: cyber war!: watch the program online | PBS

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    We have a different "PBS" down here. In Hell it means "Produced by Satan"

    I'll see if we can get that program though.

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    Quote Originally Posted by kwame k View Post
    I was watching a show on Front Line PBS about this very thing. We have been hacked, our electrical grid and other private utilities are very vulnerable, too. The problem is most of our basic necessities are controled by privately owned companies. The government has very little to do with these companies and would have a hard time imposing tighter security requirements for these companies. These companies know they are vulnerable but the cost to secure their services would cut too deep into the bottom line.

    This is another example of private companies that supply basic needs for every American, that has no real over sight by our government.

    Before you Righties start bleating about Socialism and all your other bullshit, answer this question for me. What use is having any government, if the government can't regulate and keep secure at least the basic necessities for our modern lives. I'm all for a smaller government but I want a government that will be effective, too.
    Actually there is government regulations regarding computer security for most utilities. I forget what it's called for electrics but am certified in FERC... it's pretty comprehensive but the one down side is it's more geared towards pricing protection and financical fraud.

    The cost to prevent intrusions and such are not that high... the bigger problem is the bone-heads running these utility companies are still in the stone age technologically and mentally.

    Most of the larger IT Services companies... (IBM, HP, ACS, etc..) could clean up and secure these networks quickly and easily... it would only cost consumers and businesses pennies on the dollar.
    "If you want to be a monk... you gotta cook a lot of rice...”

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    Quote Originally Posted by ZahZoo View Post
    Actually there is government regulations regarding computer security for most utilities. I forget what it's called for electrics but am certified in FERC... it's pretty comprehensive but the one down side is it's more geared towards pricing protection and financical fraud.

    The cost to prevent intrusions and such are not that high... the bigger problem is the bone-heads running these utility companies are still in the stone age technologically and mentally.

    Most of the larger IT Services companies... (IBM, HP, ACS, etc..) could clean up and secure these networks quickly and easily... it would only cost consumers and businesses pennies on the dollar.

    See I thought there would have to be regulations but I don't know shit about these industries. You're right about IT service companies being able to protect these companies. The security we have at my IT job and the maintenance we do is extremely tight.

    If it would only cost pennies on the dollar and if we have a terrorist driven attack on these companies, they should be charge with criminal negligence.

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    I smell BS

    Why would the Chinese do this when it's an act of war and China is totally reliant on the US buying their crap.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Seshmeister View Post
    I smell BS

    Why would the Chinese do this when it's an act of war and China is totally reliant on the US buying their crap.

    Could be BS but espionage and counter measures would come into play. Countries that may never attack the US still know a ton of information about us. That's part of the game.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Seshmeister View Post
    I smell BS

    Why would the Chinese do this when it's an act of war and China is totally reliant on the US buying their crap.
    Because the neocons in the reconstituted PNAC 2.0 (now called "Foreign Policy Initiative") are trying to force war with China. So they're going to be the new boogeyman for everything. They got NuttyYahoo and his even crazier sidekick Avigdor Lieberman to take care of obliterating the middle east now, so they can worry about provoking some other part of the planet.
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    Threat to the electric grid is just the begining

    BY MICHAEL BALBONI



    April 10, 2009

    This week's report that cyber spies have hacked into the U.S. electric grid shines a bright light on some of the potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in our national infrastructure.

    The malicious computer programs the spies left behind would have allowed them to disrupt service. The intrusions, discovered by officials from the intelligence community, were found after electric companies gave the government permission to audit their systems. To envision the destructive potential of this breach, just think back to the regional blackout of August 2003.

    But what if this cyber espionage weren't limited to electrical systems? What if it extended to more of the systems we depend on to provide the essentials of daily living?

    Imagine the negative impact to our social, economic, physical and general welfare if the lights went out, the water stopped flowing and the heat went cold.

    Before this week's story, many Americans were unaware that these kinds of systems are susceptible to cyber attack and manipulation. They're vulnerable because they're all connected - both to the Internet and, in many cases, to each other. Which means that cyber terrorism is a real threat to our national and local security.

    Initially, there wasn't much thought given to cyber security. The pillars of our infrastructure were usually built as stand-alone systems, proprietary to the industries they served. Dams, power plants, train-track switching systems and the like were impervious to a cyber hacker. Eventually, though, in order to create remote-control capability, supervisory control and data acquisitions systems (SCADA) were created.

    SCADA systems control a vast array of functions - opening a valve on a dam when the pressure is too great, for instance, or warning if two trains are on the same track - and they are now critical to how our infrastructure functions. Connecting them through the Internet makes them all the more efficient.

    But with that benefit came the danger.

    The Internet provides a potential portal to terrorists. The spies who hacked into the electric grid used the Internet to embed their malware. Off-the-shelf software can enable a hacker to insert malicious code that will manipulate software, creating disruptions. In addition, hackers are constantly attempting to exploit vulnerabilities through the use of worms, viruses and other malware.

    Such cyber criminals see SCADA systems as fertile targets for extortion - utilities have already been attacked and then threatened with damage if they didn't make a payment. But even more troubling is the picture this week's news starts to paint: that some hostile nation-states could target vulnerable systems as entry points to cause physical damage, major disruptions and terror.

    There does not appear to have been an attack yet. But it is essential to our national security that we develop a strategy to identify and eliminate these vulnerabilities. Doing so is made all the more difficult because most of the country's critical infrastructure is owned and controlled by the private sector and local governments. SCADA security requires the attention of the public and private sectors, and education is a critical component.

    It's essential that the public understand the potential risks associated with the Internet operation of critical infrastructure through the use of SCADA systems. Public pressure - by asking officials at all levels, "Are we protected?" - could help drive entities to conduct vulnerability surveys. All such systems within the state must be evaluated, and then a clearinghouse should be created to share vulnerabilities and attacks. Not only will this provide the nation with the necessary awareness of our weaknesses, but it can also be platform for sharing protection and mitigation strategies.

    The grid-intrusion story is a wake-up call: Cyber security has to be a priority. That means a federal funding stream must be identified or created to provide incentives at all levels of government, and in the private sector, to eliminate these vulnerabilities. Unless our infrastructure control systems are secured, the United States will remain unacceptably vulnerable.



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    Dupe thread

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    Quote Originally Posted by kwame k View Post
    cyberspies had penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system.
    Why would they leave behind evidence ??

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    So shoot me...

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    I have a propane generator and can also run off a converter, battery, and solar panels. My lights won't go out.

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    Merged...

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    Wink

    Quote Originally Posted by ELVIS View Post
    So shoot me...
    It's against the law. :shrug:

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