On November 15th, 2011, Ian Macleod reported for the Montreal Gazette on how the "the cyber-security of the North American power grid is in a state of near chaos." This according to a report from Pike Research, a US energy consultant. The report stated that a $60 smart phone application can infiltrate computer networks within the North American power grid and establish direct communication between the phone and control systems that regulate the flow of electricity.
The article also noted that DHS is worried that the hacker group Anonymous might attack the energy industry. Specifically, the National Cybersecurity and Communication Integration Center believes that Anonymous has "a limited ability to conduct attacks against ICS" and that Anonymous "could be able to develop capabilities to trespass on control system networks very quickly." I'm skeptical that Anonymous would ever attack the energy grid, even if it had the capability. The group sees itself as hacktivists rather than just hackers. Nevertheless, Anon's membership is decentralized, so it's possible a few members might decide to attack the grid for some political reason.
The article also discussed how the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a group that "enforces reliability standards for North America's gigantic and interconnected bulk power system of transmission lines and control systems", began a security drill on Tuesday. The drill will "test the electricity industry's crisis response plans, and validate current readiness in response to a cyber incident."
The source article can be found here.
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