www.csua.org/u/nyg -> www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/09/BU6F16VDI6.DTL&type=baybridge
Comments Georgia (default) Verdana Times New Roman Arial Font | Size: Spies have hacked into the US electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service, exposing potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in key pieces of national infrastructure, a former US government official said.
The inspections of the electric grid were triggered by fears over a March 2007 video from the Idaho National Laboratory, which had staged a demonstration of what damage hackers could do if they seized control of a crucial part of the electric grid. The video showed a power turbine spinning out of control until it became a smoking hulk and shut down. Although the resulting audits turned up evidence of spying, the former official said the extent of the problem is unknown because the government does not have blanket authority to examine other electric systems. "The vulnerability may be bigger than we think," the official said, adding that the level of sophistication necessary to pull off such intrusions is so high that it is "almost without a doubt" done by state sponsors. The Wall Street Journal said officials believe the spies have not yet sought to damage the nation's electric grid, but that they likely would try in a war or another crisis. Chinese and Russian officials have denied involvement in hacks on US systems. The attacks highlight serious problems that utilities like power and water companies face as they add more technologies for remotely managing their facilities. Any system networked to the rest of the world - from financial systems to university records to retail operations - can leave openings for hackers. Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said her department is "not aware of any disruptions to the power grid caused by deliberate cyberactivity here in the United States." Even so, congressional investigators and intelligence officials have warned that electric utilities are vulnerable to cyberattacks, and utilities acknowledge that their computer networks are routinely under assault. The power grid is becoming a bigger target for hackers as more pieces of it are connected to each other or, in some cases, to the Internet. Employees who work remotely can be a major point of weakness. If their computers can be compromised, hackers can begin working backward into a utility's central control system.
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Hearst Newspapers Be the first to share your thoughts on this story. Ex-official: Spies have hacked electric grid Articles Spies have hacked into the US electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service, exposing potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in key pieces of national infrastructure, a former U...
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