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US Electricity Grid Reportedly Penetrated By Spies
phantomfive worries about a report in the Wall Street Journal ("Makes me want to move to the country and dig a well") that in recent years a number of cyber attacks against US infrastructure have been launched over the Internet: "Cyberspies have penetrated the US electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials. The spies came from China, Russia, and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the US electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war."
...you must live in perpetual fear. Whenever you're starting to focus on the reality of life, new fear WILL be injected into it to distract you. This is how the natural order sustains itself.
It's a fire sale.
Watch zis zignal. It fluctuates betveen zero and vun at a constant rate. Yes, here it is. 60 Helmholtz.
Vut could it mean?
I'm sure China and Russia are having the same kind of problem.
"Some officials" come forward and warn about threats from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. "Ya know, Sir, we need funding for enhancing national security, so please make sure you get your budget right."
They must have the CIP module !
Aren't these people just admitting that they were incompetent? That's refreshingly honest of them.
http://twitter.com/onion2k
I thought mission critical computers should not be reachable from the Internet. So the spies walked to those computers and planted the software there???
Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
While arpanet/the internet was originally designed for just these sorts of things, the modern reality is that critical infrastructure shouldn't really be attached to the internet. Shouldn't there be a private network entirely isolated from the public internet for these things?
Yes it'd be more expensive and it make it less easy for private contractors to work on stuff from their offices, but the word 'critical' is a bit of a clue here.
Not that even this would guarantee security, but it makes it a heap load harder for any would-be hacker.
Jolyon
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
So, the week before a review is due looking into whether or not they should increase the flow from the money pump, "current and former national-security officials" have come forward to draw attention to a network of spies in the power grid.
Look, I'm not saying that cyber-attacks don't happen, or that there isn't a risk, but bloody hell, this article reads like a well-crafted piece of BS, designed to put the N back into FUDing.
'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
and the Financial Terrorists were / are the biggest attackers on US infrastructure.
Based on what I hear from my friends, they're already testing the software in California?
China, Russia, and other countries,
So you mean there are people capable of hacking the US energy grid but who can't start the attacks from a hacked box in Madagascar?
"Who's attacking us?"
"Sir, the attacks come from half a million infected machines all around the world."
"From all coutries?"
"Yes, sir."
"So China and Russia too?"
"Hmm, Yes, of course, sir"
"Damn commies... We should've nuked them a long time ago."
Trust me folks, it's coming. It won't be pretty, either. The power to disrupt a nation's economy via information warfare measures represents a much clearer threat than people trying to get something through airport security.
There's a reason the military is starting to get mighty interested in nerdy types, although most programs designed to leverage these skills are in their infancy. We need to get serious about this fast; other nations certainly are.
512 MB RAM, 20 GB disk, 200 GB transfer, five datacenters. $19.95/month.
AFAIK the whole remotely controlled stuff is not on internet or anything but on modem and similar box (can't remember their name) to which you have to directly dial in (non routable), and is separately powered from the power grid. If not I would fire the ass of the guy in responsibility: who in their right mind would put the control structure for a power grid, on something which can only be accessed when the same power grid is functioning. Also there are local control which override any possible remote control anyway.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
It's not rocket science. It called an air gap.
Why do people (invariably those in authority who have no idea of the consequences) have a perverse desire to hook everything up to the Internet? Iâ(TM)m not talking about John/Jane middle manager, I mean the muppets at the top âoedriving down costsâ. Was it so poorly managed prior to internet? Was there no cost effective alternative to internet connectivity? Will it in reality, after all these âoecyberâ hacks, have cost less in the long run using internet connectivity? Security through obscurity is no answer, but using networks that cannot be accessed by joe public does make life easier in the securing of national critical infrastructure. Those in authority keep banging on about how these systems are so important to US life, yet seem to do so little in enforcing the security
Why have they not hook up the Shuttle launch control system to the internet? Its simple. That answer is also not rocket science.
I always thought that nation states would be much more careful than to leave anything behind and would also limit their activities very much in order not to be detected and possibly embarrass their government (diplomacy and all). Also this kind of actitvity could be considered as an act of war.
But since this kind of activity could very well be conducted by other entities than nation states. And they are. All the time. They are also very hard to trace.
Given those facts maybe nation states use this excuse and acutally conduct this kind of activity.
Anyone got a clue?
In Soviet Russia... the Grid penetrates the Spies!
Sorry
Maybe they can figure out the tangled mess that is the US electrical grid.
..internet is BAAAAD!!! We have to REGULATE it, internet access is like having a gun, we have to identify every single person on the net! ..except those hackers, who.. oh.. damn.
In other news: standing in cold weather with too little clothes on too long may result in death! Planet earth is attacking us!!!
Everyone wants money for their projects. Part of getting it is knowing what to sell in your given field. Well, as of late with federal government dollars, national security has been the name of the game. Was more narrow to anti-terror but they are kind losing focus on that. So, it is also no surprise that is what people use to try and get the money, even if what they want really has fuck all to do with it.
For example Consolidated Edison wants to install a super conducting core in for New York's power grid. Reason is the existing grid has load problems and this looks like the best way to handle it, rather than massive amounts of more copper. This is expensive, of course. To the best of my knowledge when this is deployed, it'll be the first super conductor used for commercial power delivery. Means plenty of R&D in addition to the actual costs. Well, sure would be nice if the government would help pay for that... So they got them to.
How? Well they sold it to DHS as an "anti-terror" deal. No idea how this is supposed to be more terror resistant, but DHS bought it and that's what's important. They gave ConEd something like half the money they need for the project.
Now you know that ConEd isn't really doing this as an anti-terror measure, they are doing it as a "grid is overloaded" measure. However, they put that spin on it to get government funding, and it worked. I'm betting this is a similar money grab.
From TFA:
But protecting the electrical grid and other infrastructure is a key part of the Obama administration's cybersecurity review, which is to be completed next week.
Under the Bush administration, Congress approved $17 billion in secret funds to protect government networks, according to people familiar with the budget.
The Obama administration is weighing whether to expand the program to address vulnerabilities in private computer networks, which would cost billions of dollars more.
A senior Pentagon official said Tuesday the Pentagon has spent $100 million in the past six months repairing cyber damage.
Sounds a lot like someone is making up excuses and drumming up support to ask for more government money.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Spy sappin' my generator.
The time that power goes out most frequently where I live (New York City, Hudson Valley, Syracuse all year round) is during the summer on the hottest days. What is straining the electrical grid so much? Air conditioners. On the hottest days of the summer you will always experience brownouts, and sometimes, the days get to hot that a large section of our part of the country loses power.
Millions of New Yorkers depend on electricity in their daily lives. Prolonged power outages are not only a nuisance -- they are also potentially life-threatening and can cause major economic losses.
Power outages occur most often during the summer months, when residents run air conditioners and power usage is at its peak.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/hazards/utilities_power.shtml
- - -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Blackout_of_2003#Causes
The 2003 Northeast blackout was caused by urban sprawl interacting with silvan areas. On hot days, wires can cause fires, especially when tree branches are resting on the electrical wires because we decided running power lines through wooded areas was good decision.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_york_blackout#Cause
Lightning can also cause fires, especially on hot days, resulting in damage so great that major areas like NYC lose power for an entire day. For this blackout there were three lightning strikes that took out power lines causing major damage to NYC's power supply.
- - - - -
The Wall Street Journal should be ashamed for printing such ridiculous and manipulating propaganda. Major power outages happen entirely because of over consumption of electricity during the hottest days of the years. There is no global anti-American electrical conspiracy that is possibly going to be more damaging than mother nature (lightning, fire) and human nature (needing to be cool on hot days aka mass air conditioner use).
Last year, a senior Central Intelligence Agency official, Tom Donohue, told a meeting of utility company representatives in New Orleans that a cyberattack had taken out power equipment in multiple regions outside the U.S. The outage was followed with extortion demands, he said.
In a chilling scenario reminiscent of James Bond and other action spy movies, the CIA has confirmed that Internet attackers have succeeded in compromising power grids outside the US in order to hold entire populations to ransom while make extortion demands. The utilities infrastructure security meeting was organized by information security training, certification and research group the SANS Institute and was held in New Orleans last week.
US Central Intelligence Agency senior analyst Tom Donohue told a gathering of 300 US, UK, Swedish, and Dutch government officials and engineers and security managers from electric, water, oil & gas and other critical industry asset owners from all across North America, that "We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands." Mr Donohoe was not explicit as to whether the extortionist cyber attackers, which had brought down the power of entire cities, were terrorists with political motives or were criminals attempting to extort financial ransom. He also did not name the regions that had suffered attacks other than to say they were outside the US. "We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge," said Mr Donohue. "We have information that cyber attacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the United States.
In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all i
I'd better stick to a gasoline powered vehicle, those damn foreign Cyberspies with be monkeying around which the electricity switch
. . . and wow, does the Internet need electricity to run? I hope those foreign Cyberspies now what they will be starting, when they cut off the US supply of porn.
It ain't gonna be pretty. Maybe we can convert the Internet to run on gasoline?
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
Cause they hold all our debt and killing our economy means we can't pay them back....
1. these systems are NOT new, and arent connected directly to the net except incoming emails.
2. control stations arent controlled by users desktop systems.
3. gambling networks are more secure, and older.
4. this is an excuse to create a mass event, so they can find a reason to 'SECURE THE NET' via EVIL means, ie, only authorized webservers, all ports but 80 blocked, everything logged.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
If you can knock out the power grid via software, who needs the expense and difficulty of designing nuclear weapons to deliver an EMP?
You won't get as much disruption but the cost and ability to do it with less detection is much better.
I'm doubting the veracity of these claims. We lack the technology to send spies down mains wires.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
It sounds to me like someone needs to try and grab more control over that Internet thing. First pedophiles, then terrorists, it seems that you can start whole revolutions (linked in case anyone missed yesterday's news) using it and now THIS? The government must find a way to control it or we're all doomed! AAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!
If the g'vt kept the data on you that google does you'd better believe you'd be calling it "doing evil"
I don't get it.
Why is this stuff connected to the Internet?
Who decided to connect it to the Internet?
When did they start connecting it to the Internet? They always used to tell us not to worry, because it wasn't.
Can't these guys afford a few leased lines?
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
This is not news, this is crap.
It comes from unnamed sources, reflects unspecified incidents, and reveals a danger that seems obvious, if you know how to use your brain, that is. I didn't know Wall Street Journal was a tabloid.
I just got seriously annoyed and had to write something.. Will my comment, in the end, just help this piece of trash stay on the main page list? :/
I guess it's another 'coincidence' this FUD comes to us on the heels of legislation seking to install a 'Cybersecurity Czar'.
Just absolutely Shocking!
counterespionage information became public domain and discussed on /.?
Hell, even a dial-up modem/cell system would be more secure and 'off the grid'. Why in the world would they want to put a permanent link to these onto the internet where people can randomly poke holes in the security?
Problem solved. Someone starts sending messages back to father China and mother Russia, well, round them up. If they start using encrypted communications, then, you might need to rescrict their movements away from infrastructure areas.
This is my sig.
' Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials'
.. There were a lot last year"
"There are intrusions, and they are growing
'Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet'
Given the great Northeast Blackout of Aug 14 2003 and a similar incident at a Davis-Besse nuclear power plant the previous January, why is the US still using the Internet to control the power grid? And that's assuming that any of the above is even true.
-------
PROTHERO: Do you believe this crap, Dascombe?
DASCOMBE: It's not our job to believe it, Lewis. Our job is to tell the people --
PROTHERO: "Exactly what they tell us." I Know but do you think that people will believe it?
DASCOMBE: They will if it's you that's telling it to them. Now let's try it again.
davecb5620@gmail.com
They put the stuff on the grid so they can do real time monitoring of the health of the grid. Such monitoring is a prerequisite to the "smart grid", and it includes things like determining in greater detail who will need power and at what time, aligning contracts with greater granularity. From there, you can get the most efficient generation and purchased power stack for the given power profile.
You really are going to need to do this too, to have your windmill future.
This is my sig.
better let us give up more of our rights and freedoms for domestic wiretappings of the Internet near the IPs of the power grid. Just so we can be safe from our enemies shutting it down.
The USA is so dependent on technology now that all it will take to bring us down are a few angry hacker/crackers from a foreign nation to disrupt our Internet or Electric grid. Then we all panic as it is a cyber 9/11 attack.
How will we know every time the power goes out that hackers/crackers didn't do it instead of a tree falling on a power line or something?
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
A single purpose laptop running only the control software (can in theory be subverted by the operator, but you have to trust him anyway) with a good old dial up modem seems pretty secure and workable to me.
spying on a country is not just a privilege of the USA.
unless theyre willing to cite information regarding the attacks and some credible proof, i dont care to go insane over the fact that someone nmapped a fistful of government IP ranges that are routinely published in places like phrack.
didnt we do the same kind of fingerpointing before we went to iraq??
Good people go to bed earlier.
I'm sure this has something to do with the "smart grid worm" reported a few weeks ago
The module that allows outsiders to do this is called the CIP device. I hacks into the governments firewall. Who knew they had just one layer of protection over every bit of US infrastructure, that it's all linked together, and that it could be so easily circumvented by a genius hostage in a matter of hours?
But it's okay. A man by the name of Jack Bauer has been alerted to the situation. And knowing his previous record I'm confident that he will deal with the crisis, because all of the bad people operate within driving distance to him.
It is rather stupid to keep crying wolf, when there is little to nothing to raise the alarm about. Or, alternatively, it is very clever, if you want people to not take security warnings seriously; only, I can't see why anybody in America would wan't to achieve that.
Don't we hear these allegations all too often? It's "the Chinese and Russians" they say, and apparently it comes from the CIA or something, so we can't get to see any documentation. Perhaps some would like to think they can poison China's or Russia's reputations with this kind of stories, but as I point out, all they achieve is to weaken America's defence by undermining public trust in the agencies that are supposed to help protect them - it seems idiotic to me.
And objectively, why should China or Russia want to harm America? Like it or not, they are no longer likely to be enemies of America in a future, global conflict, which will probably be between the industrialised and developing nations. To my mind it seems more believable that the culprits are international criminal gangs; multinational companies have grown to almost nation-like power, and it seems almost unthinkable that international gangs haven't grown proportionally, especially since the introduction of the internet. They would certainly have an interest in staking out as much of the public infrastructure as they can. And, of course they might also see an interest in people not believing public security warnings.
"I had printouts of the management refusals to permit security updates in a locked cabinet to prevent tampering, and my goodness, was I glad I had those"
...
Do you mind producing the originals here, for posterity. What exactly did you warn them about. iirc The Morris Worm worked partly due to a default debug password being accidentally compiled into sendmail, an open secret at the time
davecb5620@gmail.com
Yes, but aren't there systems available where they can use simple Cell systems? My alarm system uses a cell phone instead of a land line. You would think the hardware for such a setup would be reasonably cheap and allow for decent speed for any telecommuting work needed. They could use certificates as well as passwords for authentication. This just seems insane to me.
You do not do as they wish - poops it goes.
Especially weapons systems have a remote operated switch the original manufacturer can switch off.
IT users of the world enjoy your router operations and therefore the Internet
as long as Uncle SAM allows you to!
As homer Simpson says blame it on guy who can't speak English. Also it is Mr burns fault for cutting corners so he can make more money.
These ridiculous jokes is getting old now.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
The WSJ article was apparently triggered by a letter sent by NERC (North American Electric Reliability Council) to its members. I think it shows a healthy development of security digging down to yet another layer of depth.
Forget the major computers in the major control centers. That's what everyone thinks of first. At that level it is becoming like the Indians and athropologists in the Grand Canyon. For every utility cyber worker there seems to be 30 government gumshoes and overseers looking over their shoulders. One would expect no aspects of security to be neglected at that level.
The NERC letter refers to devices at a lower level. Primarily, what the industry calls "protective relays" in substations. From 1888 to a few years ago these functions were really done with electromechanical relays. Now, many of them have been replaced by digital equivalents on a one-by-one basis. In a household analogy, it is like the difference between a central electric control computer for the house, as compared to a "smart" digital LED light bulb. One worries about the central computer being hacked, but at first blush, not the light bulb.
The problem is that the engineers who deal with this level of equipment aren't used to thinking of these devices like the light bulb instead of like computers in a network. They have not identified many of these low-level devices as "cyber critical". The NERC letter urges utilities to change that culture.
This is an industry that owns and maintains hundreds of millions of diverse pieces of equipment. Every day, some fraction of them are converted to digital. No single study, no single policy can change this infrastructure overnight. I think they are approaching cybersecurity thoroughly and methodically, but it will take time.
Remember Y2K? Roughly the same collection of hundreds of millions of devices were threatened by a common-mode failure (Y2K). It was very analogous to an external cyber attack. The utility industry tackled Y2K, thoroughly reviewed all those devices, and performed flawlessly on the morning of 1/1/2000.
My point? Sure we should worry about cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, but don't jump to the conclusion that no security exists or that nothing competent is being done about it.
tag:Shocking!
Remember the blackout in 2003? There was talk that the computers that failed were hit by a particularly nasty worm going around that week. I think it was the Sasser. Can't remember. But I do remember working as a tech and the worm was really crescendoing at the point the grid went down. The talk of a virus being the cause was put out there and quickly replaced with some excuse less scary. But from my vantage point it seemed to really coincide with the worm.
These same vulnerabilities have been known for more than a decade. Google "Eligible Receiver" for details.
SirWired
Interesting timing for this report to come out right as Obama is asking for draconian emergency powers to be able to shut off the internet and other private networks at will without regard for any law. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/obama-shut-down-internet-legislation,7478.html
Nope, electrical grid computers in exUSSR region do not even have the theoretical capacity to be connected to the public Internet. I am amazed there is an actual data linkage between the public Internet and the computers even remotely related to the power control functionality.
Geek who works at power station owns a laptop, inevitable consequences ensue.
There's this thing called "The Real World" [tm] that does not conform to legislation.
The electrical system needs to be redesigned in the same way as the Interstate Highway System was redesigned in the 1950s -- Designed from a defense perspective, with a variety of beneficial side effects.
The electrical system should have 30-50% of the power generated where it is used, not almost 100% at central stations. Yes, large generation stations have economies of scale, but they also have major systemic weaknesses. With a significant minority of the power requirement generated locally, the system will become extremely robust, and even if the central system fails for some reason, the core functions continue uninterrupted.
Whether or not this particular computer infiltration issue is hyped, there are a wide variety of threats to the grid, from simple overloads, solar flares (one took out all of Quebec and some of the Northeast in the 1980s). In wartime, it is simple to take out the grid with a single high-altitude nuclear burst; zero casualties, zero physical damage, and half the grid is toast from the EMP.
Once power is out, for a few hours it is a bit of a holiday, but after a few days, there are serious problems. Communications are mostly out after the backup power runs out, frozen food rots, fuel is unavailable because pumps have no power, and even water is a problem without pumps. In the northern tier in winter, people start freezing because even oil and gas heaters won't start without electric signals & starters. In short, it becomes a real problem to maintain society within a week.
However, with 30% distributed power, we can lose the grid entirely for months, and maintain communication, food and water, and transportation. of course, it would be inconvenient, but not a disaster.
And, it would have the side benefit of helping us say "FU" to OPEC, since many of the distributed systems would be solar and wind.
So, do they need to run SPYBOT?
My wife doesn't listen to me either...
Is there going to be a Firesale?
as with any enemy, what else did you expect to happen? Globalist fairy-tales whether economic or cultural end with the troll under-da-bridge eating you. Paranoid? Better be 24/7/365
Or rather, "Spy sappin' mah power grid!"
Guys, this is obviously just a set up so they can respond in concern for our security. You know, big bro and their warrantless wiretapping, spying, etc. People say I wear a tin foil hat, but how can you not see it?
Dude, if the electricity grid comes crashing down, your well is gonna be useless without a hand pump! I live in the country, no power means no computer, no fridge AND no water.
At least, a war with China or Russia. If we are at war with either, it will be nuclear, and at that point, hacking someones electrical grid would be hilariously hard to do since it wont even exist any longer. Hacking it beforehand would also be pointless because the facilities that launch the missiles are independent and off the grid regardless.
From what I have seen, All plants Power/Water/ Oil & Gas use a handful of the exact same Control systems products (Honeywell, Allen Bradley) and software ... with minor configuration changes across plants.
These control systems are just more specialized computer systems, if an exploit were found for any one ... that would render any of them with a link to the outside vulnerable.
And yes some people are stupid enough to hookup a Process control network to the internet ... lukcily in that particular case it was caught and rectified by the manager.
"Last week, Senate Democrats introduced a proposal that would require all critical infrastructure companies to meet new cybersecurity standards and grant the president emergency powers over control of the grid systems and other infrastructure"
I work utility operations. I haven't the foggiest idea what "grant the president emergency powers over control of the grid systems" means. Anyone familiar with the proposal in question?
This was by far the most alarming thing in the article.
The last thing they would do is ADMIT it. That fact alone tells me we are looking at the marketing pitch for a big funding request.
Can the problem ever be solved without eradicating Microsoft? Although any system can be hacked, you have to wonder about systems that have proven vulnerable to script kiddies.
A few years ago, I visited an air traffic control tower. Our group also visited ground control in the same building. Giant monitors and Sun hardware everywhere. Not a single MS box in sight except for ONE in the tower (with it's own internet connection). They were using it as a backup to get weather radar maps off the web in case their own data became unavailable. I find it interesting that nobody (other than movie script writers) are claiming the air traffic control system is under attack. Not that it isn't, but notice how the power grid is somehow a softer target. Makes me wonder why.
The American military's response is said to be akin to the 90s cartoon Superhuman Samurai Cyber-Squad.
52 52'23" W 47 32'07" N
Mod this guy up big time!
I've worked on SCADA power systems before as well and everything he says here is very accurate. The problem with the system starts with the desk jockey types start to want to view the system from their office desk... It all goes down hill from there.
I'll also point out that I'm sure that if someone wanted to get into the system that was off network they would just put USB thumb drives out in the parking lot with malware on them, then wait for the malware to call home or worm its way around the network to a machine that is connecting to the internet and tunnel in that way.
Pete/Petri "damn, my chainsaw is clogged with 1's and 0's again." --clyde
The fact that the traffic originated from IPs that include China and Russia does not mean that the hacker is Chinese or Russian.
It just means that the hacker is using chinese or russian computers.
"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once, dear. She drove me to drink. It's the one thing I am indebted to her for."
Whether or not there's anything to be worried about, this seems like a good excuse to firewall off China... which would cut down on massive massive quantities of spam and random ssh brute force hack attempts. I'd say firewall off Russia too for the same reasons, but Russia also contributes much of the porn on the internet, and that's a critical resource.
Forget Cybersecurity. Start with regular security!
In the area where I live, there is a mothballed power station with a perfectly live substation attached to it. This is a particularly large one because it controls most of the power to and around a major city. Copper thieves are regulars here, despite the extra cameras that were recently installed. In fact, before the cameras were installed, one of the copper thieves found an interesting locked door. He hotwired a forklift and started ramming it into this door, and stopped only when he got the forklift stuck in a stairwell.
Turns out that behind this locked door were the controls to the substation. Flipping the wrong switch, let alone several switches, would have damaged equipment and rendered the city dark for quite some time. Thankfully security is much better there now, but someone who knew what they were looking for could easily evade notice long enough to force their way into this room.
My point is this: your electrical system is only as secure as your delivery system, and those substations are only as secure as the corroded fences and the broken windows they are decorated with. Anyone determined to cause massive damage to the system already knows that they don't need the trojan army to disable you.
In reality, it was likely just some employee(s) looking at pr0n and got some spyware on the machine(s).
from 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
We've already SOLD most of our infrastructure to foreign interests, who now control it. Why the hell would they need spies to take it down??
~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
I think the administration needs a faster printer to print the bills - the bills in dollars and the bills of the law.
Hm...is that from HP?
Why is *anything* that is life & death sensitive to the masses put onto the internet
in the first place? I understand things needing to be connected to *some* kind of network
for remote monitoring and control, but why is that network the internet? So the operators
can shop for shoes or surf for porn while they're bored?
It makes no sense to me at all.
Hide all sigs: Click HELP+Prefs (top), VIEWING (last on right), DISABLE SIGS (3rd on left) and SAVE (hidden at bottom).
No comments could improve upon your masterful post!
Since it is possible to transmit electrical signals over the power grid, chances are unless you are running on your own power source or a battery, you've been spied on the entire time.
But now there is a new element to this spygame. Outsiders who are looking for information that they may think is useful but really isn't.
Imagine if one of those computers had nothing but Rick Astley videos and pornographic videos of two girls and one cup. The files would obviously be give all sorts of important names like "Invasion plans" "Government secrets: Eyes Only" and "CIA Top Priority". Of course, opening the file would redirect them to something annoying or disgusting. The kind of stuff that you REALLY do not want to look at because you just don't want to look at it.
Of course there reaction would be measured by the next time an international visit occurs and a cellphone playing the music from one of those videos were to go off.
Who needs GITMO when you can just drive people nuts with this video?
The Rapture is NOT an exit strategy.
Obama is not only continuing warrantless wiretapping but extending it to protect the American people from the terrorists.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obama-doj-worse-than-bush
Nothing to see here. move along...
The bigger threat is the energy traders who trade in http://www.pjm.com http://www.nyiso.com and http://www.midwestiso.org These traders are market manipulators that can disrupt the flow of energy from one market to another. Remember the huge black-out a few years ago that started in Ohio? That was caused by an AMERICAN trading company that wanted to prevent flow from one zone to another such that they can make a profit in another area.
Texas grid operating statistics are blocked to any non-american IP. This is boring stuff like average prices or sytem demand. It's certainly not sensitive, and every other market allows this stuff to be seen by anyone.
Luckily, I am smarter than any potential terrorist, and I have heard of proxies.
Insanity: voting in the same two parties over and over again and expecting different results
Unfortunately the U.S. can't control the Mexican border. How the hell are they going to protect the entire country and put money into grid defense? Not to mention the slight debt problem right now. ;s