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Report: U.S. Power Companies Under Near-Constant Cyberattacks

A new Congressional report is shedding light on the level of cyberattacks faced by U.S. electric utilities. In a survey, many power companies said that such attacks occurred daily or constantly. InfoWorld’s Jeremy Kirk reported, “A survey of U.S. utilities shows many are facing frequent cyber attacks that could threaten a highly interdependent power grid […]

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Cynthia Harvey

May 22, 2013

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A new Congressional report is shedding light on the level of cyberattacks faced by U.S. electric utilities. In a survey, many power companies said that such attacks occurred daily or constantly.

InfoWorld’s Jeremy Kirk reported, “A survey of U.S. utilities shows many are facing frequent cyber attacks that could threaten a highly interdependent power grid supplying more than 300 million people, according to a congressional report. More than a dozen utilities said cyber attacks were daily or constant, according to the survey, commissioned by U.S. Democratic Representatives Edward J. Markey and Henry A. Waxman. The 35-page report on the survey, called ‘Electric Grid Vulnerability,’ was released on Tuesday.”

The Washington Post’s Josh Hicks noted, “Markey is renewing his efforts to enact grid-security legislation. His report — which surveyed more than 150 utilities, cooperatives and federal entities owning major pieces of the electric system — showed that the power network is the target of daily cyber attacks, with one utility saying it faced 10,000 attempted attacks each month.”

According to Reuters, “Senior administration officials say they do not know of any successful destructive attack on the grid or other key infrastructure, but fear that hackers may have the ability to do so.”

Politico quoted Markey, who said, “National security experts say that cyber attacks on America’s electric grid top the target list for terrorists and rogue states, yet we remain highly vulnerable to attacks. We need to push electric utilities to enlist all of the measures they can now, and push for stronger standards in Congress that will keep our economy and our country safe from cyber warfare.”