{"id":4824,"date":"2013-08-20T14:18:47","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T14:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=4824"},"modified":"2015-12-21T12:45:17","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T18:45:17","slug":"u-s-electric-grid-under-cyber-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/08\/20\/u-s-electric-grid-under-cyber-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Electric Grid Under Cyber-Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John<\/a>If Ben Franklin lived today, he might say that nothing is certain but death, taxes and cyber-attacks.\u00a0 Cyber-attacks occur when individuals or groups hack into another group\u2019s computer information systems to steal, alter or damage key infrastructure.\u00a0 Our nation\u2019s electric grid is under constant attack according to a survey<\/a> of electric utilities by U.S. House Representatives Henry Waxman and (now) Senator Edward Markey. \u00a0The grid was the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th<\/sup> Century<\/a>, but cybersecurity was equally unknown to those grid engineers as it was to Ben Franklin.\u00a0 We need to do more to protect our energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The U.S. has finally called out China for repeated and pervasive cyber-attacks.\u00a0 Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm, released an alarming report<\/a> in February 2013 regarding the ongoing cyber-attacks by the Chinese army.\u00a0 James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, described cyber-attacks as a soft war already underway and a dire global threat in his April 2013 World Threat Assessment<\/a> to the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.\u00a0 In May of this year, for the first time, the Pentagon\u2019s annual report to Congress on the Chinese military<\/a> openly accused China\u2019s military of repeated cyber-attacks on the U.S. government and defense contractors.<\/p>\n

Cyber-attacks are underway not only by China, but also by Iran<\/a>, Russia<\/a>, Al-Queda<\/a>, organized crime<\/a>, industrial spies<\/a>, ex-utility employees<\/a> and rogue hackers<\/a>.\u00a0 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigated<\/a> over 200 serious cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure during the first half of 2013.\u00a0 The electric grid was targeted in over half of these attacks. \u00a0At the recent Black Hat security conference<\/a> in Las Vegas, Cyrill Brunschwiler of Compass Security explained<\/a> how the smart grid\u2019s wireless network can be easily exploited to steal electricity and to cause massive blackouts.\u00a0 Though innovation and new clean energy technologies<\/a> are key to modernizing our antiquated energy system, the electric grid is more vulnerable to cyber-attacks<\/a> with increased use of smartphones, tablets, mobile apps and electric vehicles to connect with our home electronic devices.\u00a0 A July 2012 report<\/a> by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) outlines the various threats to the electric grid.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Have any of these grid cyber-attacks succeeded?\u00a0 Some experts blame cyber-attacks<\/a> for the Northeast blackout of 2003 and a massive 2008 Florida blackout. \u00a0The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reported<\/a> that cyber-attacks against the electric grid have caused blackouts in several cities around the world.<\/p>\n

Here are the key highlights of our country\u2019s efforts to protect the U.S. electric grid:<\/strong><\/p>\n