US Video shows hacker hit on power grid - a US test not terrorist
Makes one wonder how many of our power outages have been tests ....
These are the people
* that released viruses and bacteria in the 1960's - including St Lo
uis;
* and tested live virus vaccines on citizens;
* and nuke weapons on soldiers and POW's;
* and bizarre black op helicopters raids of cities like St Louis in the
1970-80's ;
but can't
* organize rescues in La during Katrina;
* nor track live nukes over the country despite sensors and redundant
systems;
* and who fail to implement ecoli suggested changes even after deaths;
* and who fail to watch dog level 4 and 5 disease experiments --
but can
* fund spooky paramilitary training of police,
* build camps in the US,
* sell off natural and national resources efficiently;
* send aid in Euros upon special requests
* while pension funds and pension related medial benefits were allowed
to fail and be canceled by golden parachuted CEO's and politicians and
crooked govt workers on the take
Yeah watching them burn up a part of the power gird as a "test" makes me
feel soooo much safer tonight .....
.Peace, Hugs, and Purrs,
"No one man can terrorize a whole nation unless we are all his accomplices."
-
Edward R Murrow
Remember the fallen, fight for the weak,
share with all, and reincarnate to another galaxy -
but first restore the Constitution !
Carolyn Rose Goyda
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
(http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070927/480/bec31d35dedb41dab2e56eccb33d9854&g=events/ts/082502homelandsec;_ylt=ApbatV0CK7zQsDx.44snzLCWwvIE)
_AP Photo:_
(http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070927/480/bec31d35dedb41dab2e56eccb33d9854&g=events/ts/082502homelandsec;_ylt=AnYxcrm1JodTmucOqBzQPamWwvIE)
In
this image from video released by the Department of Homeland Security, smoke
pours from...
* Slideshow: _Homeland Security_
(http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/ts/082502homelandsec;_ylt=AjrWuhgpiW5g7yLxZZKTOT2WwvIE)
_US Video shows hacker hit on power grid - Yahoo! News_
(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070927/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/hacking_the_grid)
US Video shows hacker hit on power grid
By TED BRIDIS and EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writers 2 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A government video shows the potential destruction caused by
hackers seizing control of a crucial part of the U.S. electrical grid: an
industrial turbine spinning wildly out of control until it becomes a smoking
hulk
and power shuts down.
The video, produced for the Homeland Security Department and obtained by The
Associated Press on Wednesday, was marked "Official Use Only." It shows
commands quietly triggered by simulated hackers having such a violent reaction
that the enormous turbine shudders as pieces fly apart and it belches
black-and-white smoke.
The video was produced for top U.S. policy makers by the Idaho National
Laboratory, which has studied the little-understood risks to the specialized
electronic equipment that operates power, water and chemical plants. Vice
President Dick Cheney is among those who have watched the video, said one U.S.
official, speaking on condition of anonymity because this official was not
authorized to publicly discuss such high-level briefings.
"They've taken a theoretical attack and they've shown in a very demonstrable
way the impact you can have using cyber means and cyber techniques against
this type of infrastructure," said Amit Yoran, former U.S. cybersecurity chief
for the Bush administration. Yoran is chief executive for NetWitness Corp.,
which sells sophisticated network monitoring software.
"It's so graphic," Yoran said. "Talking about bits and bytes doesn't have the
same impact as seeing something catch fire."
The electrical attack never actually happened. The recorded demonstration,
called the "Aurora Generator Test," was conducted in March by government
researchers investigating a dangerous vulnerability in computers at U.S.
utility
companies known as supervisory control and data acquisition systems. The
programming flaw was quietly fixed, and equipment-makers urged utilities to
take
protective measures.
There was no evidence any U.S. utility company suffered damage from hackers
or terrorists using this technique, U.S. officials said. But these officials
cautioned that affected systems are not routinely monitored as closely as many
modern corporate computer networks, so there would be little forensic
evidence to study after such a break-in.
Industry experts cautioned that intruders would need specialized knowledge to
carry out such attacks, including the ability to turn off warning systems.
"The video is not a realistic representation of how the power system would
operate," said Stan Johnson, a manager at the North American Electric
Reliability Corp., the Princeton, N.J.-based organization charged with
overseeing the
power grid.
A top Homeland Security Department official, Robert Jamison, said companies
are working to limit such attacks.
"Is this something we should be concerned about? Yes," said Jamison, who
oversees the department's cybersecurity division. "But we've taken a lot of
risk
off the table."
President Bush's top telecommunications advisers concluded years ago that an
organization such as a foreign intelligence service or a well-funded terror
group "could conduct a structured attack on the electric power grid
electronically, with a high degree of anonymity, and without having to set
foot in the
target nation." Ominously, the Idaho National Laboratory — which produced
the new video — has described the risk as "the invisible threat."
Experts said the affected systems were not developed with security in mind.
"What keeps your lights on are some very, very old technology," said Joe
Weiss, a security expert who has testified before Congress about such threats.
"If you can get access to these systems, you can conceptually cause them to do
whatever it is you want them to do."
The Homeland Security Department has been working with industries, especially
electrical and nuclear companies, to enhance security measures. The electric
industry is still working on their internal assessments and plans, but the
nuclear sector has implemented its security measures at all its plants, the
government said.
In July the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed a set of standards
to help protect the country's bulk electric power supply system from cyber
attacks. These standards would require certain users, owners and operators of
power grids to establish plans and controls
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