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Power Grid Insecurities Examined
Joe Barr writes "Chris Gulker has taken a long and careful look at the infrastructure of our power grids and has come to some rather unsettling conclusions." A good read that outlines where the current power grid is at, and suggests some paths for the future that may help avoid future blackouts.
Was it just me, or did the link to that story contain an ad for Microsoft Server 2003? For all of you that didnt RTFA, this would be a good time to do so...its good for a laugh, in whats going to be a serious problem for all the crack(power) addicted unwashed.
We must reflect on our transient nature that is so dependent on fossil fuel-based power generation. We must encourage the development of high-end fusion generating stations that will allow us to wrest away from the strangle-hold that the oil-producing nations have upon us.
It is only then that we reach our full potential in our academic and athletic pursuits which substantiate our integrity in the grand scheme of things.
Why must we fall in the trap of consumerism? Cannot we withstand the constant bombardment of commecial messages by the illicit corporations who have their own agendas?
Yes, we can and we shall. It is what makes us the leading society in the western hemisphere and as history as proved, it is our greatest asset.
Wearing pants should always be optional.
Get it? Shocking! That's the most electrifying joke I've heard all day.
Legacy systems, for example, may have been designed to run on private, 10-megabit networks, and as such, lack even basic security features such as firewalls.
Come - on! I grew up in Alfalfa County in Oklahoma. Serviced by the Alfalfa County Rural Eelectric Cooperative, fed by the GRDA (Grand River Dam Authority), OG&E and others. If those some of daughters have any net connectivity at all, it's likely to be based on dial-up modem tech, not even basic TCP/IP. After dialup, satellite connections were probably next and may still be the main choice for connectivity in all but the populus urbs and suburbs. Most of USA's power is source through rural areas anyway. I have extreme doubts that the majority of the carrier lines have direct net connections.
But, I guess this plays into the problem. You get some government regulated utility and interface it (in a few, key places) to the net at large and, coupled with the years of assumtion (in software) of a private connection and yes, the script kiddies could easily run amok.
I wouldn't have said nor believed the shite I'm spouting now, had it had been for the recent northeast blackout. Now I don't trust the national grid very much at all.