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Peter1469
04-09-2016, 06:49 AM
FBI Warns of Cyber Threat to Electric Grid (http://freebeacon.com/issues/fbi-warns-cyber-threat-electric-grid/)

It is likely that Russia and China already have hacked our grid, and they can shut them down at will.


Three months after a Department of Homeland Security intelligence report downplayed the threat of a cyber attack against the U.S. electrical grid, DHS and the FBI began a nationwide program warning of the dangers faced by U.S. utilities from damaging cyber attacks like the recent hacking against Ukraine’s power grid.

The nationwide campaign by DHS and the FBI began March 31 and includes 12 briefings and online webinars for electrical power infrastructure companies and others involved in security, with sessions in eight U.S. cities, including a session next week in Washington.


The unclassified briefings are titled “Ukraine Cyber Attack: Implications for U.S. Stakeholders,” and are based on work with the Ukrainian government in the aftermath of the Dec. 23 cyber attack against the Ukrainian power infrastructure.


“These events represent one of the first known physical impacts to critical infrastructure which resulted from cyber-attack,” the announcement by the DHS Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team read.


“The attacks leveraged commonly available tools and tactics against the control systems which could be used against infrastructure in every sector.”


The briefings will outline the details of the attacks, the techniques used by the hackers, and strategies to be used to limit risks and improve cyber security for grid organizations.

FindersKeepers
04-09-2016, 07:47 AM
While we keep generators out here because the rural service is iffy - it would also help in a pinch if our grid went down.

Unbeknownst to some- our grid is regularly attacked. Only the attacks are not large enough to cause a cascading effect. If an organized cyber attack by an enemy is successful, on a widespread scale, there could be some big problems.


• More often than once a week, the physical and computerized security mechanisms intended to protect Americans from widespread power outages are affected by attacks, with less severe cyberattacks happening even more often.
• Transformers and other critical equipment often sit in plain view, protected only by chain-link fencing and a few security cameras.
• Suspects have never been identified in connection with many of the 300-plus attacks on electrical infrastructure since 2011.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/03/24/power-grid-physical-and-cyber-attacks-concern-security-experts/24892471/

Adelaide
04-09-2016, 08:02 AM
It's definitely an easy mark.

I forgot who said it, but with technology where it is today it is the "great equalizer" of our time. Even the smallest most irrelevant country (or group) with a skilled hacker could potentially knock out parts of the US' infrastructure, like the power grid. It isn't just the "big players" who have the ability, and that's scarier to me than thinking Russia or China could do it anytime they wanted. The smaller, more hostile countries that are on the US shit list seem to behave more erratically and care less about consequences.

waltky
07-26-2016, 06:51 PM
Cyber Attacks Prompt New threat levels...
http://www.politicalforum.com/images/smilies/icon_omg.gif
US: 'Revolution' of Cyber Attacks Prompts New Protection Efforts
July 26, 2016 - White House sets threat levels to determine appropriate government response


The U.S. warned Tuesday of a "revolution" of computer hacking threats against the country from foreign governments and non-state actors like the so-called Islamic State, and it issued new guidelines to protect American interests. A White House directive outlined a five-point scale to assess the severity of new attacks, the degree to which a cyber security breach might affect national government operations, municipal utilities, private corporations or other U.S. interests.

The new effort, years in the making, would assign six levels of severity to any breach, such as a level three or above incident that would be considered "significant" and trigger quick government action. The worst-case scenario was seen as one that would pose an imminent threat to wide-scale critical infrastructure in the country, the stability of the government or lives of Americans. "To put it bluntly, we are in the midst of a revolution of the cyber threat, one that is growing more persistent, more diverse, more frequent and more dangerous every day," White House counter-terrorism adviser Lisa Monaco told a cyber security conference in New York. "Unless we act together - government, industry and citizens - we risk a world where malicious cyber activity could threaten our security and prosperity," she said. "That is not a future we should accept."


http://gdb.voanews.com/A15FC2BD-BABB-4A3E-947E-18F3032541DE_w640_r1_s.jpg
A specialist works at the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in Arlington, Va.

Monaco named Russia and China as cyber adversaries, while also noting that Iran and North Korea are capable and willing to carry out destructive attacks, as well as "hacktivists" who are not necessarily aligned with a foreign interest. The new directive comes as U.S. Democratic Party officials are claiming that "Russian state actors" hacked into nearly 20,000 emails at the party's Washington headquarters. The messages, released last weekend by WikiLeaks, showed that party leaders undermined the presidential campaign of an upstart challenger, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, in his long and eventually unsuccessful contest against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the party's nominee in the November national election.

Monaco said there will be a thorough investigation of the Democratic Party security breach "and I'm sure there will be more to say later." The FBI is looking into the cyber attack, but Moscow on Tuesday rejected any contention that it was involved.

http://www.voanews.com/content/us-says-revolution-of-cyber-attacks-prompts-new-protection-efforts/3435727.html

Don
07-28-2016, 01:07 AM
FBI Warns of Cyber Threat to Electric Grid (http://freebeacon.com/issues/fbi-warns-cyber-threat-electric-grid/)

It is likely that Russia and China already have hacked our grid, and they can shut them down at will.

Time for the Pentagon to remove global warming as a national security risk and replace it with strengthening the grid and cyber access to it. I have a feeling that all of them wouldn't mind so much to see it attacked or fail from a solar event. Then they could add more restrictions and controls on us like they have with the terror issues.

Peter1469
07-28-2016, 04:56 AM
You are probably correct.

Common
07-28-2016, 04:58 AM
This has been coming for decades. We could have fixed the grid 10 times over with all the money illegal immigration has cost us

Peter1469
07-28-2016, 04:59 AM
The grid is old. It needs to be modernized anyway. While doing that, harden it. It is a win-win.

Common
07-28-2016, 06:09 AM
The grid is old. It needs to be modernized anyway. While doing that, harden it. It is a win-win.

Theyve been talking about the bad shape the grid was in and the mish mosh of connections for decades. Its been known how vulnerable and weak it is.

donttread
07-28-2016, 07:54 AM
FBI Warns of Cyber Threat to Electric Grid (http://freebeacon.com/issues/fbi-warns-cyber-threat-electric-grid/)

It is likely that Russia and China already have hacked our grid, and they can shut them down at will.

We have placed way too much trust in easily fried electronics. "Progress for progess's sake.

Peter1469
07-28-2016, 03:46 PM
Theyve been talking about the bad shape the grid was in and the mish mosh of connections for decades. Its been known how vulnerable and weak it is.

We knew from the early nuclear bomb tests.

Peter1469
07-28-2016, 03:47 PM
We have placed way too much trust in easily fried electronics. "Progress for progess's sake.

Time to modernize and harden it.

Chloe
07-28-2016, 03:48 PM
Our grids need to become more localized and sustainable. We need to get to the point to where grids as we know them become fossils.

Peter1469
07-28-2016, 03:50 PM
Our grids need to become more localized and sustainable. We need to get to the point to where grids as we know them become fossils.

They are working on localized grids. That would be a good protection feature. One of many.

Bethere
07-28-2016, 06:46 PM
Our grids need to become more localized and sustainable. We need to get to the point to where grids as we know them become fossils.


Move to the head of the class!

Docthehun
07-28-2016, 06:50 PM
For what it's worth, I'm chairman of the board for our local municipal power system, that while relatively small, has a national reputation for how a small utility should be operated. We have a long history in such matters, starting with a Thomas Edison dc plant to power street lights. In the 30's we built a twin boiler, coal fired plant that we retired about fifteen years ago and one of the nation's first nuclear reactors which actually was in operation only a couple of years due to technical issues.

At present, we purchase all our energy from a variety of sources as a member of AMP. Our facilities and systems are state of the art and we maintain two fuel oil fired turbines, both recently totally rebuilt and which are capable of powering the city should there be a grid failure. It is true that portions of the grid are indeed susceptible to cyber attack and in need of updating. Recognize that the U.S. population has doubled in my lifetime and energy consumption continues to climb and will do so going forward.

While many of the updates could be done in a relatively short period, the cost to do so would place unnecessary financial burden on customers. Like rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, the grid has to be addressed over the long term. It's highly unlikely that anyone could successfully take the entire grid down, certain parts of the country, mostly heavily populated areas, would be most at risk. The industry is keenly aware of the economic impact of even short term powers outages, along with the huge inconvenience. We measure outages in terms of seconds and minutes.

In recent years a lot of resources have been devoted to isolating problems to as small a geographic area as possible and that ability allows the industry to respond quickly. It is true that we don't advertise the daily cyber attacks that originate both abroad and domestically from sophisticated foreign nations to teenage computer whizzes. We don't want to call attention to such intrusions which might cause unnecessary fear and/or panic.

For what is described as soft targets such as sub-stations and transmission towers, those chain link fences are as much for your protection as providing system security. Such breaches are far more common and rarely cause any substantial outages. Most at risk are the perpetrators who often resemble a slab of smoking ribs after such illegal entries. You can probably browse the web to find to find pictorial examples. The electric chair scene in "The Green Mile" is kid stuff compared to ignoring the "high voltage" signs.

In a nutshell, Tammy texting Timmy while driving a car presents a much more clear and present danger. Rest assured, we're working daily to make sure your power remains on.

Bethere
07-28-2016, 07:28 PM
For what it's worth, I'm chairman of the board for our local municipal power system, that while relatively small, has a national reputation for how a small utility should be operated. We have a long history in such matters, starting with a Thomas Edison dc plant to power street lights. In the 30's we built a twin boiler, coal fired plant that we retired about fifteen years ago and one of the nation's first nuclear reactors which actually was in operation only a couple of years due to technical issues.

At present, we purchase all our energy from a variety of sources as a member of AMP. Our facilities and systems are state of the art and we maintain two fuel oil fired turbines, both recently totally rebuilt and which are capable of powering the city should there be a grid failure. It is true that portions of the grid are indeed susceptible to cyber attack and in need of updating. Recognize that the U.S. population has doubled in my lifetime and energy consumption continues to climb and will do so going forward.

While many of the updates could be done in a relatively short period, the cost to do so would place unnecessary financial burden on customers. Like rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, the grid has to be addressed over the long term. It's highly unlikely that anyone could successfully take the entire grid down, certain parts of the country, mostly heavily populated areas, would be most at risk. The industry is keenly aware of the economic impact of even short term powers outages, along with the huge inconvenience. We measure outages in terms of seconds and minutes.

In recent years a lot of resources have been devoted to isolating problems to as small a geographic area as possible and that ability allows the industry to respond quickly. It is true that we don't advertise the daily cyber attacks that originate both abroad and domestically from sophisticated foreign nations to teenage computer whizzes. We don't want to call attention to such intrusions which might cause unnecessary fear and/or panic.

For what is described as soft targets such as sub-stations and transmission towers, those chain link fences are as much for your protection as providing system security. Such breaches are far more common and rarely cause any substantial outages. Most at risk are the perpetrators who often resemble a slab of smoking ribs after such illegal entries. You can probably browse the web to find to find pictorial examples. The electric chair scene in "The Green Mile" is kid stuff compared to ignoring the "high voltage" signs.

In a nutshell, Tammy texting Timmy while driving a car presents a much more clear and present danger. Rest assured, we're working daily to make sure your power remains on.

For an entitled millionaire industrialist pig you sure are a great guy!

What's up with that?

Peter1469
07-28-2016, 08:29 PM
For what it's worth, I'm chairman of the board for our local municipal power system, that while relatively small, has a national reputation for how a small utility should be operated. We have a long history in such matters, starting with a Thomas Edison dc plant to power street lights. In the 30's we built a twin boiler, coal fired plant that we retired about fifteen years ago and one of the nation's first nuclear reactors which actually was in operation only a couple of years due to technical issues.

At present, we purchase all our energy from a variety of sources as a member of AMP. Our facilities and systems are state of the art and we maintain two fuel oil fired turbines, both recently totally rebuilt and which are capable of powering the city should there be a grid failure. It is true that portions of the grid are indeed susceptible to cyber attack and in need of updating. Recognize that the U.S. population has doubled in my lifetime and energy consumption continues to climb and will do so going forward.

While many of the updates could be done in a relatively short period, the cost to do so would place unnecessary financial burden on customers. Like rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, the grid has to be addressed over the long term. It's highly unlikely that anyone could successfully take the entire grid down, certain parts of the country, mostly heavily populated areas, would be most at risk. The industry is keenly aware of the economic impact of even short term powers outages, along with the huge inconvenience. We measure outages in terms of seconds and minutes.

In recent years a lot of resources have been devoted to isolating problems to as small a geographic area as possible and that ability allows the industry to respond quickly. It is true that we don't advertise the daily cyber attacks that originate both abroad and domestically from sophisticated foreign nations to teenage computer whizzes. We don't want to call attention to such intrusions which might cause unnecessary fear and/or panic.

For what is described as soft targets such as sub-stations and transmission towers, those chain link fences are as much for your protection as providing system security. Such breaches are far more common and rarely cause any substantial outages. Most at risk are the perpetrators who often resemble a slab of smoking ribs after such illegal entries. You can probably browse the web to find to find pictorial examples. The electric chair scene in "The Green Mile" is kid stuff compared to ignoring the "high voltage" signs.

In a nutshell, Tammy texting Timmy while driving a car presents a much more clear and present danger. Rest assured, we're working daily to make sure your power remains on.

What about an EMP attack?

Congressional EMP commission report (http://empcommission.org/).

Docthehun
07-28-2016, 08:31 PM
For an entitled millionaire industrialist pig you sure are a great guy!

What's up with that?

I pay close attention to what my young mentors have to say. The older I get the more I realize how little I know. Good times!

texan
07-28-2016, 08:32 PM
OMG and coupling that with Trump telling the Russians they should be hacking, practically inviting them to engage in espionage this is really bad.

Docthehun
07-28-2016, 08:42 PM
What about an EMP attack?

Congressional EMP commission report (http://empcommission.org/).

Or earthquake, tsunami, hurricane....... All these threats along with an EMP attack are possibilities. We have to weigh the threat, not on potential, but on probability in relation to cost. In our view, a cyber attack poses the greater risk.

MisterVeritis
07-28-2016, 09:19 PM
For what it's worth, I'm chairman of the board for our local municipal power system, that while relatively small, has a national reputation for how a small utility should be operated. We have a long history in such matters, starting with a Thomas Edison dc plant to power street lights. In the 30's we built a twin boiler, coal fired plant that we retired about fifteen years ago and one of the nation's first nuclear reactors which actually was in operation only a couple of years due to technical issues.

At present, we purchase all our energy from a variety of sources as a member of AMP. Our facilities and systems arestate of the art and we maintain two fuel oil fired turbines, both recently totally rebuilt and which are capable of powering the city should there be a grid failure. It is true that portions of the grid are indeed susceptible to cyber attack and in need of updating. Recognize that the U.S. population has doubled in my lifetime and energy consumption continues to climb and will do so going forward.

While many of the updates could be done in a relatively short period, the cost to do so would placeunnecessary financial burden on customers. Like rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, the grid has to be addressed over the long term. It's highly unlikely that anyone could successfully take the entire grid down, certain parts of the country, mostly heavily populated areas, would be most at risk. The industry is keenly aware of the economic impact of even short term powers outages, along with the huge inconvenience. We measure outages in terms of seconds and minutes.

In recent years a lot of resources have been devoted to isolatingproblems to as small a geographic area as possible and that ability allows the industry to respond quickly. It is true that we don't advertise the daily cyber attacks that originate both abroad and domestically from sophisticated foreign nations to teenage computer whizzes. We don't want to call attention to such intrusions which might cause unnecessary fear and/or panic.

For what is described as soft targets such as sub-stations and transmission towers, those chain link fences are as much for your protection as providing system security. Such breaches are far more common and rarely cause any substantial outages. Most at risk are the perpetrators who often resemble a slab of smoking ribs after such illegal entries. You can probably browse the web to find to find pictorial examples. The electric chair scene in "The Green Mile" is kid stuff compared to ignoring the "high voltage" signs.

In a nutshell, Tammy texting Timmy while driving a car presents a much more clear and present danger. Rest assured, we're working daily to make sure your power remains on.
Nonsense. You are so highly regulated you won't make a move without government direction. You know you cannot recoup your costs unless the government allows it. So you do nothing that is not approved by your leash holders.

MisterVeritis
07-28-2016, 09:22 PM
Or earthquake, tsunami, hurricane....... All these threats along with an EMP attack are possibilities. We have to weigh the threat, not on potential, but on probability in relation to cost. In our view, a cyber attack poses the greater risk.
None of those can bring down the grid.

But a CME could. And a cyber-physical attack could. And EMP certainly can. You won't do anything until your government minders tell you that you must. If you do it on your own you won't be able to recoup your costs.

Docthehun
07-28-2016, 09:36 PM
Nonsense. You are so highly regulated you won't make a move without government direction. You know you cannot recoup your costs unless the government allows it. So you do nothing that is not approved by your leash holders.

Nonsense. We are not subject to any PUCO regulation. We set our rates at board meetings. We decide on the quantity and source of our purchased power. We are a municipal utility, technically owned by all the citizens of the community. Our dividends come in the form of reduced rates to those "shareholders". We are subject to regulation from only two government agencies, the much maligned EPA and the Dept. of Energy. We can't drain transformers into the sewer system type rules (EPA) and the Dept. Of Energy yearly sends a team here to thoroughly inspect our decommissioned nuclear facility for any radiation. That facility will reach it's half life in 2080 at which time the facility can be demolished.

I give you a pass because I believe you had no idea that municipal power systems have a different set of rules than shareholder owned corporate power systems. :smiley:

Docthehun
07-28-2016, 09:38 PM
None of those can bring down the grid.

But a CME could. And a cyber-physical attack could. And EMP certainly can. You won't do anything until your government minders tell you that you must. If you do it on your own you won't be able to recoup your costs.

I'll give you a second pass.

Bethere
07-28-2016, 09:48 PM
I'll give you a second pass.

1. God, I remember when we had this discussion. You and Indian fan crushed me.

That doesn't happen to me very often.

If it wasn't for Stockholm syndrome I would probably hate you!

2. PUCO is probably the most unfortunate acronym in the English language!

15429

3. You guys recouped your costs decades ago didn't you?

Docthehun
07-28-2016, 09:56 PM
1. God, I remember when we had this discussion. You and Indian fan crushed me.

That doesn't happen to me very often.

If it wasn't for Stockholm syndrome I would probably hate you!

2. PUCO is probably the most unfortunate acronym in the English language!

15429

Yea, yea; about as much as I hate you! I miss IndianFan and his Chinese factory.

Our rates are 20% lower than D.P. & L's, we have no old equipment, no debt and millions stashed away for system upgrades and additional local generating assets. Next on the list is our own solar facility.

Peter1469
07-28-2016, 09:59 PM
Or earthquake, tsunami, hurricane....... All these threats along with an EMP attack are possibilities. We have to weigh the threat, not on potential, but on probability in relation to cost. In our view, a cyber attack poses the greater risk.

Right, the threat matrix covers risk and likelihood.