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Massive Power Outages In Brazil Caused By Hackers
Hugh Pickens writes "CBS reports on 60 minutes that a massive two-day power outage in Brazil's Espirito Santo State affecting more than three million people in 2007, and another, smaller event in three cities north of Rio de Janeiro in January 2005, were perpetrated by hackers manipulating control systems. Former Chief of US National Intelligence Retired Adm. Mike McConnell says that the 'United States is not prepared for such an attack' and believes it could happen in America. 'If I were an attacker and wanted to do strategic damage to the United States, I would either take the cold of winter or the heat of summer,' says McConnell, 'I would probably sack electric power on the US East Coast, maybe the West Coast and attempt to cause a cascading effect.' Congressman Jim Langevin says that US power companies need to be forced to deal with the issue after they told Congress they would take steps to defend their operations but did not follow up. 'They admit that they misled Congress. The private sector has different priorities than we do in providing security. Their bottom line is about profits,' says Langevin. 'We need to change their motivation so that when see vulnerability like this, we can require them to fix it.' McConnell adds that a similar attack to the one in Brazil is poised to take place on US soil and that it may take some horrific event to get the country focused on shoring up cyber security. 'If the power grid was taken off line in the middle of winter and it caused people to suffer and die, that would galvanize the nation. I hope we don't get there.'"
Yes, of course! The government has already taken over the banking sector, the mortgage sector, the automotive sector, is about to take over the healthcare sector, so fuck it - the government may as well take over the energy sector as well. I can't wait until they take over food distribution - I've always wanted to know what it's like to stand in line for a loaf of bread all day.
Power does not corrupt - power attracts the corrupt.
And this is why Linux is better than Windows. (mod me up thanks)
I think you're confused about the English language! "In America" certainly includes any country in either North or South America. You're probably US American and went to a horrible "school" and therefore can be forgiven. ;)
When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
Don't forget about starting a couple of wars in random third-world countries just to look "tough" (or to benefit your buddies running various energy companies).
However, "America" *is* commonly used around the world as an abbreviated form of "The United States of America".
Not where I'm from, which is Germany. I always took it, and still take it, as a form of US American arrogance or at least myopia or self-centeredness.
When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
And yet, somehow, I'd still rather live in the United States... odd.
A point that I raised and you dismissed without comment.
Frankly, the tone of your post made me want to simply tell you to fuck off. If you want better replies in the future, try to be less abrasive.
I didn't say there was one and only one cause of that really big event, and I think you're a twat for implying that this is what I meant. Be happy I was in a good enough mood to give some more information which your reply did not really warrant. How much research and time-spent are you expecting out of slashdot posts? Really? I linked to a wikipedia article relevant to the topic, it had enough info there to lead to the rest I gave later, you should have been able to do that yourself, rather than to blab off about being incorrect and misleading.
You can't take the sky from me...
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/america. Also, according to several of my many U.S. American friends, my English is noticeably superior to that of the average U.S. American speaker. From what I understand, I wouldn't have been allowed into a German university with the typical lack of understanding of English grammar that is common in U.S. American high school graduates. When I was studying towards my doctorate in physics at the University of Oregon, I once had a competition with another graduate student, a native speaker, concerning the usage of grammar in English. From what I recall, it was a close call, but I won the competition. That was almost 20 years ago. I am fairly certain that my English skills have improved since then. I make most of the silly mistakes that native speakers make but, I make them in order to fit in and I am still keenly aware of them, when I make them! Examples are using "is" when it should be "are" or "me" when it should be "I", or "who" when it should be "whom." The last one may only be required in British English, I am not sure...
When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
And if you aren't trying to convince others, then why are you here?
To share information, you adversarial #@%$@#%$@.
You can't take the sky from me...
"None-native" illustrates my point just fine! Oh, and that's "Dr. Asshole" to you! :)
When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
Former generals and admirals receive their talking points from the Pentagon and White House.
If you believe McConnell, you're a first class sucker of the message machine