Does US power grid need defense?

[Joanna + 68]

A recent poll showed that more than 90 percent of United States citizens believe the administration is not prepared to protect the electric grid from cybersecurity attacks. Their fears appear to be justified.

Earlier this week, Trump administration accused Russian government hackers of carrying out a deliberate, ongoing operation to penetrate vital U.S. industries, including the energy grid — a major ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries over cybersecurity. These attacks have the capability to bring down all or part of our electricity service.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI accused Russian hackers of waging coordinated cyberattacks against the U.S. energy sector and other elements of critical infrastructure since at least March 2016. Federal officials say that the Russian government conducted a “multi-stage intrusion campaign” that involved using malware and spearphishing attacks to compromise networks of small commercial facilities and gain remote access to U.S. energy sector networks.

https://safehaven.com/article/45022/Russian-Hackers-Target-US-Energy-Infrastructure

In February, DOE said it is planning on upgrading cybersecurity efforts for the American power grid. Funding increases for this year for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is $96 million. That represents a fraction of damage an attack could cause.

Some studies predict that cyberattack on 50 generators in the Northeast could leave 93 million people without power and cost the economy over $234 billion.

Just remember that other countries are investing more in the both cyber-attack and defense from it. Russia, Iran, North Korea and others have large-scale, offensive cyberattack programs. Russian military already a crippled computers in Ukraine’s financial system last year. This followed 2015 and 2016 cyberattacks that disabled part of Ukraine’s electric grid.

US security agencies believe that Russia is laying a foundation for a large scale cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure. The Dragonfly 2.0 hackers, identified by Homeland Security as Russian government cyber actors, pursued a prolonged cyberattack on a U.S. power plant and computer networks controlling the grid.

 

 

[李伟王芳 + 77]

then how come that our companies are contracting Russia-based companies to help develop IT-related systems software that control US electric grid lines, port facilities and other vital power systems.

[Meanwhile + 49]

The only way to secure the Grid is to Air Gap every system. 

[JohnAtronis + 78]

8 minutes ago, Meanwhile said:

The only way to secure the Grid is to Air Gap every system. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/power-grid-cyber-attacks-keep-the-pentagon-up-at-night/

[李伟王芳 + 77]

10 minutes ago, Meanwhile said:

The only way to secure the Grid is to Air Gap every system. 

cheap and easy

[Joanna + 68]

1 hour ago, Joanna said:

A recent poll showed that more than 90 percent of United States citizens believe the administration is not prepared to protect the electric grid from cybersecurity attacks. Their fears appear to be justified.

Earlier this week, Trump administration accused Russian government hackers of carrying out a deliberate, ongoing operation to penetrate vital U.S. industries, including the energy grid — a major ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries over cybersecurity. These attacks have the capability to bring down all or part of our electricity service.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI accused Russian hackers of waging coordinated cyberattacks against the U.S. energy sector and other elements of critical infrastructure since at least March 2016. Federal officials say that the Russian government conducted a “multi-stage intrusion campaign” that involved using malware and spearphishing attacks to compromise networks of small commercial facilities and gain remote access to U.S. energy sector networks.

https://safehaven.com/article/45022/Russian-Hackers-Target-US-Energy-Infrastructure

In February, DOE said it is planning on upgrading cybersecurity efforts for the American power grid. Funding increases for this year for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is $96 million. That represents a fraction of damage an attack could cause.

Some studies predict that cyberattack on 50 generators in the Northeast could leave 93 million people without power and cost the economy over $234 billion.

Just remember that other countries are investing more in the both cyber-attack and defense from it. Russia, Iran, North Korea and others have large-scale, offensive cyberattack programs. Russian military already a crippled computers in Ukraine’s financial system last year. This followed 2015 and 2016 cyberattacks that disabled part of Ukraine’s electric grid.

US security agencies believe that Russia is laying a foundation for a large scale cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure. The Dragonfly 2.0 hackers, identified by Homeland Security as Russian government cyber actors, pursued a prolonged cyberattack on a U.S. power plant and computer networks controlling the grid.

 

 

go solar

[Rodent + 1,424]

1 hour ago, Joanna said:

A recent poll showed that more than 90 percent of United States citizens believe the administration is not prepared to protect the electric grid from cybersecurity attacks. Their fears appear to be justified.

Earlier this week, Trump administration accused Russian government hackers of carrying out a deliberate, ongoing operation to penetrate vital U.S. industries, including the energy grid — a major ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries over cybersecurity. These attacks have the capability to bring down all or part of our electricity service.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI accused Russian hackers of waging coordinated cyberattacks against the U.S. energy sector and other elements of critical infrastructure since at least March 2016. Federal officials say that the Russian government conducted a “multi-stage intrusion campaign” that involved using malware and spearphishing attacks to compromise networks of small commercial facilities and gain remote access to U.S. energy sector networks.

https://safehaven.com/article/45022/Russian-Hackers-Target-US-Energy-Infrastructure

In February, DOE said it is planning on upgrading cybersecurity efforts for the American power grid. Funding increases for this year for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is $96 million. That represents a fraction of damage an attack could cause.

Some studies predict that cyberattack on 50 generators in the Northeast could leave 93 million people without power and cost the economy over $234 billion.

Just remember that other countries are investing more in the both cyber-attack and defense from it. Russia, Iran, North Korea and others have large-scale, offensive cyberattack programs. Russian military already a crippled computers in Ukraine’s financial system last year. This followed 2015 and 2016 cyberattacks that disabled part of Ukraine’s electric grid.

US security agencies believe that Russia is laying a foundation for a large scale cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure. The Dragonfly 2.0 hackers, identified by Homeland Security as Russian government cyber actors, pursued a prolonged cyberattack on a U.S. power plant and computer networks controlling the grid.

 

 

Honestly I'm just intrigued that someone thinks our energy grid is current enough to be hackable. It's so outdated that I am truly embarrassed. 

[Missy + 43]

Just now, Rodent said:

Honestly I'm just intrigued that someone thinks our energy grid is current enough to be hackable. It's so outdated that I am truly embarrassed. 

That's entirely unfair. Nigeria and Pakistan have more power outages on a regular basis than the US does.

[Cokiga Damke + 53]

the hardest part may be modernizing our jurisdictional system to ensure seamless federal authority to prepare for and respond to cyberattacks.

[Cokiga Damke + 53]

26 minutes ago, Missy said:

That's entirely unfair. Nigeria and Pakistan have more power outages on a regular basis than the US does.

US territory Puerto Rico has the longestTHE LONGEST power outage. 

[Missy + 43]

11 minutes ago, Cokiga Damke said:

US territory Puerto Rico has the longestTHE LONGEST power outage. 

PREPA has been a problem in the making for nearly... ever.

[Stephen + 67]

2 hours ago, Joanna said:

A recent poll showed that more than 90 percent of United States citizens believe the administration is not prepared to protect the electric grid from cybersecurity attacks. Their fears appear to be justified.

Earlier this week, Trump administration accused Russian government hackers of carrying out a deliberate, ongoing operation to penetrate vital U.S. industries, including the energy grid — a major ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries over cybersecurity. These attacks have the capability to bring down all or part of our electricity service.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI accused Russian hackers of waging coordinated cyberattacks against the U.S. energy sector and other elements of critical infrastructure since at least March 2016. Federal officials say that the Russian government conducted a “multi-stage intrusion campaign” that involved using malware and spearphishing attacks to compromise networks of small commercial facilities and gain remote access to U.S. energy sector networks.

https://safehaven.com/article/45022/Russian-Hackers-Target-US-Energy-Infrastructure

In February, DOE said it is planning on upgrading cybersecurity efforts for the American power grid. Funding increases for this year for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is $96 million. That represents a fraction of damage an attack could cause.

Some studies predict that cyberattack on 50 generators in the Northeast could leave 93 million people without power and cost the economy over $234 billion.

Just remember that other countries are investing more in the both cyber-attack and defense from it. Russia, Iran, North Korea and others have large-scale, offensive cyberattack programs. Russian military already a crippled computers in Ukraine’s financial system last year. This followed 2015 and 2016 cyberattacks that disabled part of Ukraine’s electric grid.

US security agencies believe that Russia is laying a foundation for a large scale cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure. The Dragonfly 2.0 hackers, identified by Homeland Security as Russian government cyber actors, pursued a prolonged cyberattack on a U.S. power plant and computer networks controlling the grid.

 

 

malware had been found in the operating systems of several organizations and companies in the US energy, nuclear, water and “critical manufacturing” sector, and the malware as well as other form of cyber-attacks had been traced back to Moscow

[JohnAtronis + 78]

department's cyber funds would get a boost under President Trump's proposed fiscal 2019 budget, amid cuts to other programs.

[Rodent + 1,424]

2 minutes ago, Stephen said:

malware had been found in the operating systems of several organizations and companies in the US energy, nuclear, water and “critical manufacturing” sector, and the malware as well as other form of cyber-attacks had been traced back to Moscow

Russia shouldn't waste its time--the US grid is doomed to fail all by its little self. 

"Using data from the United States Department of Energy, the International Business Times reported in 2014 that the United States suffers more blackouts than any other developed country in the world."

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/What-Will-You-Do-when-the-Lights-Go-Out-The-Inevitable-Failure-of-the-US-Grid.html

 

[李伟王芳 + 77]

cybersecurity will have to wait. All focus today in on Stormy's interview 

[Meanwhile + 49]

UK and other European countries have same problems. 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/18/energy-sector-compromised-state-hackers-leaked-gchq-memo-uk-national-cybersecurity-centre

[Cokiga Damke + 53]

Well thing is that the security community warned about this activity last year. Symantec released a report last September, bad timing due the election crap,  detailing a cyberattack campaign against the energy sector in Europe and North America tied to the “Dragonfly” cyber espionage group, a group also known as “Energetic Bear,” that some security firms say is connected to the Russian government. 

Symantec’s report described a broader campaign dating back to late 2015 in which hackers targeted organizations located in the U.S., Turkey and Switzerland, with some minimal activity in other countries.  

Symantec has tracked the group’s activity back to 2011.

[李伟王芳 + 77]

if you are alluding that US administration is trying to hide something,  it's not fair to say Trump knew anything about it. He tunes out of intelligence briefings about 10 seconds in.

[Cokiga Damke + 53]

we should focus on cyberwar. I am far less comfortable with it than tariffs 

[Stephen + 67]

3 minutes ago, Cokiga Damke said:

we should focus on cyberwar. I am far less comfortable with it than tariffs 

how can this administration lead cyberwar when the youngest is 72

[Meanwhile + 49]

Private industry, state, and local authorities, and all others affected by this will need to join forces to combat these cyber threats. And bypass the Congress and WH

[JohnAtronis + 78]

3 hours ago, Joanna said:

A recent poll showed that more than 90 percent of United States citizens believe the administration is not prepared to protect the electric grid from cybersecurity attacks. Their fears appear to be justified.

Earlier this week, Trump administration accused Russian government hackers of carrying out a deliberate, ongoing operation to penetrate vital U.S. industries, including the energy grid — a major ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries over cybersecurity. These attacks have the capability to bring down all or part of our electricity service.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI accused Russian hackers of waging coordinated cyberattacks against the U.S. energy sector and other elements of critical infrastructure since at least March 2016. Federal officials say that the Russian government conducted a “multi-stage intrusion campaign” that involved using malware and spearphishing attacks to compromise networks of small commercial facilities and gain remote access to U.S. energy sector networks.

https://safehaven.com/article/45022/Russian-Hackers-Target-US-Energy-Infrastructure

In February, DOE said it is planning on upgrading cybersecurity efforts for the American power grid. Funding increases for this year for the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response is $96 million. That represents a fraction of damage an attack could cause.

Some studies predict that cyberattack on 50 generators in the Northeast could leave 93 million people without power and cost the economy over $234 billion.

Just remember that other countries are investing more in the both cyber-attack and defense from it. Russia, Iran, North Korea and others have large-scale, offensive cyberattack programs. Russian military already a crippled computers in Ukraine’s financial system last year. This followed 2015 and 2016 cyberattacks that disabled part of Ukraine’s electric grid.

US security agencies believe that Russia is laying a foundation for a large scale cyberattack on U.S. infrastructure. The Dragonfly 2.0 hackers, identified by Homeland Security as Russian government cyber actors, pursued a prolonged cyberattack on a U.S. power plant and computer networks controlling the grid.

 

 

off course Russia is creating and testing technologies to attack our infrastructure...just like we're building and testing tech to do the same to them

[Structural Master + 18]

So... The Russians use Facebook to influence our thoughts putting our Energy Infrastructure in danger..?
 

[Missy + 43]

On 3/26/2018 at 12:16 PM, Stephen said:

how can this administration lead cyberwar when the youngest is 72

Good point. I guess we can start putting the millennials to good use now. I was hoping somebody would find a use for them someday.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

Attacking the Trump administration for the state of our antiquated energy infrastructure is about as ridiculous a thought as I can possibly imagine. He has been in power for a little over a year and is up against the entire establishment of the United States every time he tries to accomplish his worthwhile goals. 

Our energy infrastructure requires huge investments that we must address and will take decades to fully fix. It requires redundant systems and localization of power sources. Especially natural gas plants and pipelines. The transmission systems and computer systems must be very secure also. This will be an ongoing problem for as far as the imagination can see. The legal problems create great inertia against solving problems as do NIMBYS, greenies, and etc.