“Since May, hackers have been penetrating the computer networks of companies that operate nuclear power stations and other energy facilities, as well as manufacturing plants in the United States and other countries.” - https://www.nytimes.com
“The intruders could be positioning themselves to eventually disrupt the nation’s power supply, warned the officials, who noted that a general alert was distributed to utilities a week ago. Adding to those concerns, hackers recently infiltrated an unidentified company that makes control systems for equipment used in the power industry, an attack that officials believe may be related.” - https://www.bloomberg.com
“The Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation said they are aware of a potential intrusion in the energy sector. The alert issued to utilities cited activities by hackers since May.” - https://www.bloomberg.com
"No indication of threat to public safety"
Yet, their systems were breached by an unknown actor.
“The North American Electric Reliability Corp., a nonprofit that works to ensure the reliability of the continent’s power system, said it was aware of the incident and was exchanging information with the industry through a secure portal. “At this time, there has been no bulk power system impact in North America,” the corporation said in an emailed statement.” - https://www.bloomberg.com
"'There is no indication of a threat to public safety, as any potential impact appears to be limited to administrative and business networks,” DHS and the FBI said in a joint statement provided to the Times."' - http://www.huffingtonpost.com
“U.S. intelligence officials have long been concerned about the security of the country’s electrical grid. The recent attack, striking almost simultaneously at multiple locations, is testing the government’s ability to coordinate an effective response among several private utilities, state and local officials, and industry regulators. Specialized teams from Homeland Security and the FBI have been scrambled to help extricate the hackers from the power stations, in some cases without informing local and state officials. Meanwhile, the U.S. National Security Agency is working to confirm the identity of the hackers, who are said to be using computer servers in Germany, Italy, Malaysia and Turkey to cover their tracks.” - https://www.bloomberg.com
“Jon Wellinghoff, the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said in an interview last week that while the security of United States’ critical infrastructure systems had improved in recent years, they were still vulnerable to advanced hacking attacks, particularly those that use tools stolen from the National Security Agency.” - https://www.nytimes.com
Russia to blame?
"The two people familiar with the investigation say that, while it is still in its early stages, the hackers’ techniques mimicked those of the organization known to cybersecurity specialists as “Energetic Bear,” the Russian hacking group that researchers have tied to attacks on the energy sector since at least 2012." - https://www.nytimes.com
Already pointing fingers with no proof:
"Despite immediate suspicions that Russia may be laying the groundwork for Ukraine-style power grid attacks in the US, no digital fingerprints have yet tied the attacks to any specific group." - https://www.wired.com
"[We believe that] they are nation-state backed ... because of the amount of resources it takes [to] target as many facilities are they have and in as many ways that they have," Perlroth said. "But beyond that, we don't know exactly who they are. They could be Russian contracted hackers, they could be what [Russian President] Vladimir Putin calls patriotic hackers and they could be sitting in a government society. We really just don't know." - https://www.pri.org
A few questions:
Do you live near a power plant?
If you're not in the USA, do you believe your nations power plants are immune to the same attacks?
Are you afraid of Russia?
Remember to hide in plain sight,
- Citizen
(Image Source)