Spies Penetrate U.S. Electrical Grid

National Security Officials Say System Is Under Attack From Russian And Chinese Cyber Spies

(CBS/ AP)  The U.S. electrical grid is under attack from Russian and Chinese cyber spies who have inserted software that could disrupt the system, current and former national security officials tell the Wall Street Journal.

So far, these spies have not tried to damage the system, but the possibility remains likely should a war or national security crisis hit the United States, the officials said.

"The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid," a senior intelligence official told the newspaper. "So have the Russians."

In addition to electrical systems, nuclear power plants and financial networks; water and sewage systems are also at risk, officials said.

"There are intrusions, and they are growing. There were a lot last year," a former Homeland Security official told the newspaper.

The report follows a Pentagon announcement Tuesday which showed more than $100 million was spent in the last six months responding to and repairing damage from cyber attacks and other computer network problems, military leaders said.

Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, said the military is only beginning to track the costs, which are triggered by constant daily attacks against military networks ranging from the Pentagon to bases around the country.

"The important thing is that we recognize that we are under assault from the least sophisticated - what I would say the bored teenager - all the way up to the sophisticated nation-state, with some pretty criminal elements sandwiched in-between," said Chilton, adding that the motivations include everything from vandalism to espionage. "This is indeed our big challenge, as we think about how to defend it."

[tarha_c]

Makes me think of all those feet that were floating ashore last year. You know the ones still in their tennis shoes?

[tarha_c]

Thats funny. Oldtimer, I know somewhere in your heart you actually believe our country is still intact. I hate to break your heart but while we have all been taking afternoon naps our couches watching reruns of the Waltons, country was being cut down from the bottom up.....

Who was it that had the CLAY FEET? He was made of the finest of jewels and he was decorated with the finest metals and I can go on and on...... just one problem, his feet were made of CLAY! Can you imagine working your butt off the design such a beautiful doll and then putting CLAY FEET on him..... how is that going to hold all those jewels and metals, silver, gold ect with CLAY FEET..... I want to know who that designer is! Remind me never to go to him for anything!

[tarha_c]

That's me....I am Number 6 and I snuck out of my pod last night. I have been running loose for 24 hours now.... I expect the MIB to come and get me SOON!

[tarha_c]

That's not what we do with our educational systems. We get our Grants and loans reduced so we have to take out loarns. Then we get caught up in into the trap of educational loans as they gradually remove the funding from theGrants tand Scholorships then they slap us across the face with revolving interest we were never made aware of or a hidden deficit attempt I am sure. Part of the American take down. They give our philathropy away to the new comers. then they come after us for our revolving loan moneys that keep growing and growing,..... just like the economic fall of the houseing..... how long has that been set up? A corrpt lending policy is exactly what it is. Corrput and it don't matter who's lending who the money as long as money is being lent. Whether it is for school, housing, vehicles, you name it..... anything that can run rapid and out of control like a rabid dog.............like a ravishing wolf, who's been starbed out of his natural habitat ...for how many years now??? Then we put them back where they belong and they go Crazy from the starvation of being captive. Ohhhh........... now we have another problem..... the wolves are out of control again. Lets shoot to kill and ask questions later.

[tarha_c]

I guess if you were one of those people who wanted to run all over the world going here and there sight seeing you might have an issue with the lock down of America. Personally I don't. If they want to run everyone out of here that wasn't born here thats ok by me, since this is how we lost our country anyway. Traveling abroad, following abroad, snooping abroad, selling abroad, buying ...abroad aiding abroad...... helping abroad, fighting abroad, then I guess you can one day expect them to come to you. What ever you do..... don't burn the BOOKS!

[tarha_c]

Sorry about my poor spelling this morning. Must have been that Elf laser they had setting on me all night long from one of those Glorious satilites, which has the capability to look through your walls, hears what you say and torch you with microwavable laser beams that use to be portable. I gues they still are in a way. They just reloacted them into our Hight tech space systems. They can zoom down on your windows and you can actually have a heart to heart conversation with them.

Here's lookin at you Kid.... oh and by the way, "Can we communicate!"

[tarha_c]

The grid has been infiltrated since before 2000. Of-course I am sure nobody remembers the outages we had back during Y2K and I guess no one wondered what those were about! Those were testing stations to see if their infiltrations were successful. Santa Fe NM had one for an entire week in 2000. The entire city went without electicity for a week. So get ready folks. While Bush was setting with Putim at thew china games ...such a cozy couple, and Russia was taking out after Georgia, Bush and his buddy were discussing their next move after he lfet office.

[Keith Geddes]

What a relief to see so many sensible answers to this report. My reason for commenting is AS its been admitted the U.S. Powergrid has been infiltrated.. I`m still waiting to hear about our Brit Hacker? Surely what he did was along the same lines. AS he was allowed to get in using domstic `tools`.. WHOSE fault was that?? WE KNOW who.. I`ve heard him in interviews.. asgergers? Because he saw fit to tell the WHOLE truth of what he did? DIDNT think to keep quiet as anyone WILL think he attacked the U.S. defence system? HUH? I`ve just looked up a High Court Judge here who has overturned an action for the daftest of reasons. Its in my local paper TODAY.. and already on the net.. I`m not guilty YET of making waves.. but.. WE ARENT allowed to ask questions now!!
IT IS STILL if you aint with us.. you are agin us. ITS WAY too obvious Obama being fast tracked.. he has lots of debts to high people.
Er.. we cant all get along because so many people hang on to their own power.
We`ve just been told NOT to worry about our bank holiday travels in the UK. WHY? because of the suspects picked up early due to a security leak.. MYSELF.. I couldnt care less. I visited London during the IRA actions in the 70`s.. no, I wasnt worried.. didnt bother me I may go to the wrong place at the wrong time. These people are BRAINLESS.. Unfortunately.. many of the powers that be seem to be as well.

[BORN_IN_BLOOD]

These are little snippets of info that they allow the public to see and hear about so they have a scapegoat(imaginary of course) to point the finger at and make us all feel like we have an invisible enemy out there trying to attack us, so that we all get on board with them when they decide to attack that country. It's a simple mind trick once used by Hitler and now used by Osama, I mean Obama...the Antichrist! I feel bad for those that truly believe this drivel that the government spews out in our ears/eyes...WAKE UP PEOPLE! The governments should fear us, not the other way around! V

[cyinzl8r]

So What! they could turn off our electric. Whoopee. It goes off whenever the wind blows anyway. They turn it off, someone logs back in and turns it back on and gets yelled at for having a stupid password. If this were 6 mos ago the left wingers would be complaining that Bush-Cheney are manipulating the press to scare us into torturing people. Give it a break already. It's not that big a deal. Frankly I'd be more concerned that a surge from a sun storm will blow out a lot of transformers that are low in numbers stockpiled. Get back to work!

[gold_standard]

The obvious implication the government wants us to believe is that we need to nationalize and militarize our nation to defend ourselves. Never mind that when you are done, you will be living in a giant prison. It will be a safe and secure prison.

[cbsantispin]

The United States of America was not built with terror or terrorist in mind. America was sweet and innocent once, sure there was crime and bad apples, but nothing on the scale like we see now. I'm not that old, but there is a new breed, different mindset and different generations walking the planet surface, not just here in America, but all over. The World has changed, changed for the worst all over. The World has lost it's innocence. Since when does new construction need to take into consideration bombing and terror? Despite all the God & Religion bashing, things started going downhill when God was taken out of schools, things were better with God!

[macadou]

As Rodney King said why cant wes all get along

[bobnjersey]

[Stop watching lazily written television. :) In real life, people use complex passwords. The problem is, they tape them to their monitor screens or "hide" them under their keyboards or mouse mats... ]
[Posted by hypnotoad72 at 5:04 PM : Apr 8, 2009 ]

ahh ... i've been working in the tech business for over 25 years ... and i see 'password', '123789', and their name as passwords all the time.

they only use complex passwords when the system forces it.

[abbe91]

" skyk-2009
I don't know if you notice but Obama Biden are the Pres and VP. We had an election in Nov and in Jan the new administration took control... This is April this happened under Obama/Biden watch.."
Posted by vistavermin1 at 5:26 AM : Apr 9, 2009

"There are intrusions, and they are growing. There were a lot last year," a former Homeland Security official told the newspaper."

Skyk read the article ...

[hatesthecolt]

vistavermin1, read the whole article please:

' "There are intrusions, and they are growing. There were a lot last year," a former Homeland Security official told the newspaper. '

This has been going on for years. I know you'd LIKE to blame every bad thing that happens on President Obama (practice saying it... it gets easier), but you can't reasonably do so.

[Cxa44]

What's important is we get rid of our nukes, then say "Ok, Mr Putin and Mr Tao, now it's your turn".

"CHANGE YOU CANNOT FATHOM"

[skyk-2009]

It was a godd beginning to taking out the trash world leaders. Guess liberating millions and millions of people wasnt enough for you. elections and no more TRUE TORTURE chambers means nothing.
Posted by wtcmedic911 at 7:01 PM : Apr 8, 2009

Yeah I know! Being Arrogant and LYING to all our Friends and Allies to start a war based on LIES to our own People made us so much safer! LOL We had a LOSER who TOLD us we had security now we find out we were LIED to about that as well and you come up with THIS?? Week... very very week.

[skyk-2009]

Why are we letting Russia and China take over our power grids?
Posted by snarkysnark at 12:24 AM : Apr 9, 2009

A MUCH better question is where was that SECURITY that Bush/Cheney said we had? The more I see, out in the open, about these two, the more obvious it becomes that they were the biggest frauds in US History!!

[tmittelstaed]

"..If we aren't doing the same thing to them, we are dumber than I thought...."- quickly101

We are. The US passed a law a few years ago requiring all telephone companies that used voice-over-ip to permit law-enforcement to wiretap those calls. The definition of a telephone company is sufficiently broad so that any ISP that offers voice service (and all major ones do) must also allow electronic wiretapping. Since there's no way to identify if a user on the Internet is running voip without interecepting their packet stream and examining it,, the law effectively requires all major ISP's to allow the government to intercept any data stream on the Internet. As a result of this, all large Internet routers have intercept code built in.
Supposedly the intercept ability is only activated if a warrent is issued, but the fact is that ISP's routinely allow warrantless intercepts. This became public knowledge a few years ago and there was an uproar, but the Bush admin successfully passed a law that provided immunity for these companies. As a result the practice is still going on despite the usual public denials by the telcos.
The government also sets up large numbers of honeypot computers, so when the crackers attack, they can't tell the difference from a real unpatched computer and one that is a honeypot - and the cyper police learn a lot from observing how the cracker breaks into the honeypot. The government also plants bogus data in honeypots as well as viruses.
It is also known that China and Russia routinely use the Linux OS as their platform instead of Windows because the source to it is available. The source to Windows is claimed a trade secret and is not available, but the reality is that MS installs back doors into it that only they and the government know about, which is why foreign governments prefer not to use Windows as their computer OS platform.
The US also has a large cyber warfare department in the NSA. All of this kind of thing is well known in the business.