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US power grid vulnerable to attack

2013-05-22 09:25 by
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According to a report by two Democratic lawmakers, several U.S. power utilities are facing frequent cyberattacks that could threaten a highly interdependent power grid supplying more than 300 million people. Congressmen Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Henry Waxman of California released the 35-page report on the survey, called "Electric Grid Vulnerability," on Tuesday.

"It has been reported that actors based in China, Russia, and Iran have conducted cyber probes of U.S. grid systems, and that cyberattacks have been conducted against critical infrastructure in other countries," the report said.

One utility said it recorded 10,000 cyberattacks per month, while another said it saw daily probes for vulnerabilities in its systems and applications. Cyberattacks are inexpensive to execute and hard to trace, the report said.

The U.S. society has become more aware of cyber threats against the grid and other critical infrastructure since late last year, when senior Obama Administration officials began warning that foreign enemies are looking to sabotage the U.S. power grid, air traffic control systems, financial institutions and other infrastructure.

The US power grid security is managed through a set of required standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. These were agreed to by members, combined with a set of voluntary actions power companies can take.

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