[Steverino]

This is not good. I sure as hell hope we spend as much time, money and energy on resolving this as we do on the "threat" of illegal immigrants. But the reply from the Department of Homeland Security to this actual and serious security threat does not fill me with confidence.

Security firm Symantec is warning that a series of recent hacker attacks not only compromised energy companies in the US and Europe but also resulted in the intruders gaining hands-on access to power grid operations—enough control that they could have induced blackouts on American soil at will.

The firm also sent warnings to more than a hundred companies about the Dragonfly 2.0 hackers, as well as to the Department of Homeland Security and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is responsible for the stability of the US power grid. NERC didn't immediate answer WIRED's request for comment on Symantec's findings, but DHS spokesperson Scott McConnell wrote in a statement that "DHS is aware of the report and is reviewing it," and "at this time there is no indication of a threat to public safety."

https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-gain-switch-flipping-access-to-us-power-systems/

 

[srmarti]

I wouldn't expect someone to comment on the issue and give feedback to the potential hackers.

 

[rhodomel]

The worst reality is that Trump allowed Putin's hackers to penetrate our system in exchange for favorable real estate deal of his business empire. Then Putin's hackers sold the access to North Korea and China. If North Korea sends us nuclear loaded missiles, the hackers would disable the grid and the main power supply to our tracking systems and we're just sitting ducks.

 

[Dutch]

We were discussing this with the guy at the end of the street and he was basically shrugging his shoulders and saying "what's the big deal" so I (jokingly) challenged him to kill the main breaker in their house for a couple of hours.

Much to my surprise he came down a few hours later and said "I thought what the hell and gave it a try... it sucked!"

Now I find myself wondering... has this guy never experienced a power outage before?!? LOL.

 

[Upper5Percent]

The worst reality is that Trump allowed Putin's hackers to penetrate our system in exchange for favorable real estate deal of his business empire. Then Putin's hackers sold the access to North Korea and China. If North Korea sends us nuclear loaded missiles, the hackers would disable the grid and the main power supply to our tracking systems and we're just sitting ducks.

Cheyene Mountain has its own power systems as do all the minuteman sites...and all of the Aegis equiped ships in the Navy have missle tracking capabilities...so we would NOT be sitting ducks...

 

[Raymondjram]

I was the Systems Supervisor for most of the Unix and Windows servers at the Puerto Rico Telephone Company (now it is Claro). I worked closely with our Network Manager, and we had the access reinforced several times (and eventually "hackproofed"). We offered a reward to any employee who could get in the servers from outside. No one could! All critical access es were protected by multiple layers of security and passwords. If our own employees could not get in, no one else can. Our most critical telephone billing system (using Tandem and IBM computers) had no remote access, and needed a real, physical presence to access their systems.

But if I was the manager to any power utility that allowed remote accessing, I will fire all those involved! All business critical systems must be prevented from any remote access!

Now that I am retired and out of the business, I cannot guarantee the same protection at Claro. But it is utterly stupid to allow ANY access from outside.

 

[rhodomel]

Cheyene Mountain has its own power systems as do all the minuteman sites...and all of the Aegis equiped ships in the Navy have missle tracking capabilities...so we would NOT be sitting ducks...

USB thumb drives and double agents abound, especially Trump as the agent of Putin...

 

[Qinsp]

The worst reality is that Trump allowed Putin's hackers to penetrate our system in exchange for favorable real estate deal of his business empire. Then Putin's hackers sold the access to North Korea and China. If North Korea sends us nuclear loaded missiles, the hackers would disable the grid and the main power supply to our tracking systems and we're just sitting ducks.

So this was the ex-President?
http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/17/technology/security/nasdaq-hack/index.html

You must admit, the Obamas are hanging out with billionaires and he gets $400,000 for a 1 hour dinner speech with NASDAQ and Wall Street brokers. "Gimme bucks or I'll have my Russians wipe you out!"

 

[Upper5Percent]

So this was the ex-President?
http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/17/technology/security/nasdaq-hack/index.html

You must admit, the Obamas are hanging out with billionaires and he gets $400,000 for a 1 hour dinner speech with NASDAQ and Wall Street brokers. "Gimme bucks or I'll have my Russians wipe you out!"

The market is more at risk of an irresponsible trader than a hacker...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2011/09/15/2-billion-ubs-incident-rogue-trader-my-ass

The power grid is another story...

The Northeast blackout of 2003's primary cause was a programming error or "bug" in the alarm system at the control room of FirstEnergy Corporation, an Akron, Ohio-based company. The lack of an alarm left operators unaware of the need to re-distribute power after overloaded transmission lines hit unpruned foliage, triggering a "race condition" in the energy management system software, a bug affecting the order of operations in the system. What would have been a manageable local blackout cascaded into massive widespread distress on the electric grid.

And who can forget The Northeast US and Northeastern Canada blackout of Nov 9, 1965
A faulty relay at Sir Adam Beck Station on the Ontario side of Niagara Falls led to what was then the biggest power failure in U.S. history. At 5:16 p.m., the tripping of a 230-kilovolt transmission line began a domino effect resulting in a surge of power that overwhelmed transmission lines and put New York City in the dark at the height of a Tuesday rush hour. 800,000 people were reported trapped in the subway.

In addition to New York, power overloads and automatic system shutdowns affected 30 million people in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire,Vermont, Quebec, and Ontario. 10,000 National Guardsmen and 5,000 off-duty police officers were called into service to prevent looting, although it turned out to be relatively calm and peaceful. Power was restored for most people within 13 hours.

 

[ClarksonCote]

Well on the bright side, I've got an EV Extend wiring kit installed in my Volt and ready for any power outages.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

The market is more at risk of an irresponsible trader than a hacker...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2011/09/15/2-billion-ubs-incident-rogue-trader-my-ass

The power grid is another story...

The Northeast blackout of 2003's primary cause was a programming error or "bug" in the alarm system at the control room of FirstEnergy Corporation, an Akron, Ohio-based company. The lack of an alarm left operators unaware of the need to re-distribute power after overloaded transmission lines hit unpruned foliage, triggering a "race condition" in the energy management system software, a bug affecting the order of operations in the system. What would have been a manageable local blackout cascaded into massive widespread distress on the electric grid.

And who can forget The Northeast US and Northeastern Canada blackout of Nov 9, 1965
A faulty relay at Sir Adam Beck Station on the Ontario side of Niagara Falls led to what was then the biggest power failure in U.S. history. At 5:16 p.m., the tripping of a 230-kilovolt transmission line began a domino effect resulting in a surge of power that overwhelmed transmission lines and put New York City in the dark at the height of a Tuesday rush hour. 800,000 people were reported trapped in the subway.

In addition to New York, power overloads and automatic system shutdowns affected 30 million people in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire,Vermont, Quebec, and Ontario. 10,000 National Guardsmen and 5,000 off-duty police officers were called into service to prevent looting, although it turned out to be relatively calm and peaceful. Power was restored for most people within 13 hours.

Yeah, I got caught on the LIE commuting from Long Island City to Huntington. When I finally got home, I lit the gas broiler in the kitchen to get some heat. The gas furnace, of course, couldn’t start without electricity, and, since it was a hot-air system, the circulating fan wouldn’t have worked anyway. Funny, I don’t remember when we got the electricity back, probably some time during the night.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

USB thumb drives and double agents abound, especially Trump as the agent of Putin...

You've been around here long enough to know that we strive for accuracy in our postings. You got any proof to back up what you wrote?

 

[Taser54]

Seems like this thread would be better suited in the political subforum.

 

[!arry4pyro]

If you have solar a Tesla Powerwall 2 battery will protect your home against grid outages. It automatically cuts in if the grid goes down and allows your solar to continue to operate as long as the sun shines.

 

[firehawk72]

Well on the bright side, I've got an EV Extend wiring kit installed in my Volt and ready for any power outages.

Ha, great plug, lol

By the way, your EV extend is an awesome addition to any Volt.