Russian Hackers Suspected in Cyberattack Causing Huge Ukraine Blackout

Experts say they have established the world’s first known case of a cyberattack on a power grid, which cut power to more than 600,000 homes in Ukraine in late December. U.S. intelligence agencies and cybersecurity experts are looking to Russia as the likely source of the attack.

State of emergency declared in Crimea after activists ‘blow up’ electricity pylons

Crimea left without power after power pylons blown up in what appears to be the latest attempt to enforce an economic blockade on the region which was annexed by Russia in March 2014

Russian authorities have declared a state of emergency in Crimea after nearly two million people on the peninsular were left without power by the destruction of two pylons carrying electricity from Ukraine.

The Russian Energy Ministry did not say what had caused the outages, but Russian media reported that two pylons in the Kherson region of Ukraine north of Crimea had been blown up by Ukrainian nationalists.

FBI warn ISIL hackers plan local blackouts in U.S. power grid

There doesn’t even need to be any hackers involved. Nine substations being taken out will send America back into the stone ages and claim upwards of 9 out of 10 American lives. That’s how safe the U.S. electrical grid is. The electrical grid in central California has already been attacked with sniper rifles in what’s likely a dry run. It was reported an entire year later after the incident, then whitewashed as a non-threat.

As for the rest of the infrastructure, control of SCADAs is key — something China and Russia likely can manipulate. From there, sewage systems could be forced to flood the streets and medication dosages for the sick and elderly could be manipulated.

 

The terror group’s hackers have attempted cyberattacks in the U.S., but aren’t skilled enough to succeed, the FBI said. Still, though, ISIL may have the cash to fund cyberattacks on U.S. targets.

“Strong intent. Thankfully, low capability,” John Riggi, a section chief in the FBI’s cyber division, told CNN. “But the concern is that they’ll buy that capability.”

Threat to the grid? Details emerge of sniper attack on power station

Newly reported details about a 52-minute sniper attack on a central California electrical substation last year are raising concerns from Capitol Hill and beyond, amid questions over whether it was the work of terrorists.

The April 16, 2013, attack had not been widely publicized until The Wall Street Journal reported new details in a story on Wednesday. The attack reportedly started when at least one person entered an underground vault to cut telephone cables, and attackers fired more than 100 shots into Pacific Gas & Electric’s Metcalf transmission substation, knocking out 17 transformers. Electric officials were able to avert a blackout, but it took 27 days to repair the damage. 

Study Predicts More Frequent And Severe Blackouts In The Coming Years

A new assessment from a British and New Zealand research team has concluded that the worldwide electrical grid will suffer more frequent and significant outages if current trends continue.

In their report, which was published in the Social Space Scientific Journal, the two authors noted that nearly three quarters of American transmission lines are more than 25 years old.