An Energy Department report seeks new powers to deal with attacks and other emergencies.
The reports that Russian computer attackers had hacked a Vermont electrical utility company have turned out to be baseless, but the nation’s grid is in “imminent danger” of very real cyber-attacks according to the Energy Department warnings issued on Friday in a 494-page report on Cyber Attacks + Electrical Grid Security.
“Widespread disruption of electric service because of a transmission failure initiated by a cyber-attack at various points of entry could undermine U.S. lifeline networks, critical defense infrastructure and much of the economy; it could also endanger the health and safety of millions of citizens,” the DOE said in their QUADRENNIAL ENERGY REVIEW: 2nd Installment. “Also, natural gas plays an increasingly important role as fuel for the nation’s electricity system; a gas pipeline outage or malfunction due to a cyberattack could affect not only pipeline and related infrastructures, but also the reliability of the nation’s electricity system.”
To deal with the ‘imminent threat’, Congress should update the Federal Power Act to grant the DOE emergency powers over the electrical grid, the report has stated.
Cyber-attacks on electrical systems aren’t a purely academic or theoretical matter, as Ukraine’s grid was disrupted by cyber-attacks attributed to Russia, which is engaged in territorial disputes with the country over eastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula.