Posted on 09/09/2017 11:48:12 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
If by "more dangerous" you mean far easier, and far more likely to be used -- then I agree. However, an EMP attack could not only permanently destroy or disable much of the grid -- it could also permanently disable most consumer electronics. So, an EMP attack is far more difficult to launch, and far less likely to occur; but it is also potentially far more devastating.
Or this:
But we can trust the good men and women in the government to keep us safe and secure.
Anyone remember this one: Hacks of OPM databases compromised 22.1 million people
Ok so if stations are not connected to the internet, then how are they vulnerable to hackers?
Company violated government regulations and you blame the government??.
OTOH, this has nothing to do with electrical distribution systems!
Then is the claim not true? I hope.
Distribution systems are vulnerable but nother via the Internet.
And lots of publicity is made of a dude at the plant that opens a phishing email on his desktop computer.
Gator,
You are correct, power generators and control centers are isolated from the internet.
Anyone that doubts that need to read the NERC CIP standards.
” it could also permanently disable most consumer electronics”
We talked about this in another thread. An EMP, as many people understand it, will not have this sort of effect. It would take many EMPs (a dozen or so) to guarantee that consumer electronics were affected.. And if you want a large coverage area it would take thousands more.
An effective EMP strike on the US would have nothing to do with consumer electronics and cars because a major electrical hub would need to be hit in order for it to have any effect (Altitude and range are factors)
But software can have the same effect. It could cause overloads on circuits that would literally melt thousands of miles of lines and stations. Software could take us out across every state - at once. No numbers of EMP could do that.. ever.
Here’s what the EMP Commission had to say about that:
“The high-altitude nuclear weapon-generated electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is one of a small number of threats that has the potential to hold our society seriously at risk and might result in defeat of our military forces.”
Report of the Commission to Assess the
Threat to the United States from
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack
Executive Summary:
http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf
All power generation and distribution systems are governed by NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) which in turn is regulated by the FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). If you’re a bulk power operator then you are a member of NERC.
NERC compliance standards cover just about everything that anyone has ever thought of doing with power generation. And they dream up new standards and new regulations every day.
They do not allow the control systems that manipulate the grid to touch the Internet. Every (any) change that anyone contemplates making to a NERC-covered system (computers, controllers, RTU’s, ETC. must run a compliance gauntlet before gaining permission. I mean down to changing the fuses!
But to answer your question, how are they vulnerable to hackers? They’re vulnerable to hackers who gain physical control of a system. They’re vulnerable to physical damage from things like bombs or airplane crashes. And they’re vulnerable to EMP. In fairness, there is vulnerability from saboteurs as well, but not by outsiders sitting at a console and “hacking” their way into the system.
What happens when a botnet of smart devices responsive to outside control are told to all switch on and off in a synchronized manner? Alternating power demand surges with a sudden large drop of load off of the grid? A power distribution grids load doesn’t exhibit instantaneous load changes without a major equipment failure.
FBI and DHS assisted with an investigation of the hijacking of the Ukrainian power grid. It was better protected than the U.S. grid at the time of the attack.
https://www.wired.com/2016/03/inside-cunning-unprecedented-hack-ukraines-power-grid/
Whether or not it is tied to the internet is irrelevant to my point. Private networks can be and have been compromised via the same methods. I know, that is what I do for a living - penetration testing only my customers are mostly financial institutions.
But directly to your point, consider this paper from Texas Instruments:
http://www.ti.com/lit/ml/slyb214/slyb214.pdf
Or this from Scientific America:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/power-grid-cyber-attacks-keep-the-pentagon-up-at-night/
No reason why they can’t use dedicated lines to do any ‘coordinating” with stations/substations/other areas. More expensive but not prohibitively so.
Equipment fails all the time. And it doesn’t have to be that major, one down line or blown capacitor can screw things up. People have forgotten the 70s, things didn’t used to be this reliable.
“society seriously at risk and might result in ***defeat of our military forces.***”
WUT
Right.
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