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U.S. cyber infiltration of the Russian electric grid: Implications for deterrence (Herb Lin, Lawfare)
The New York Times reportedon June 15 that “the United States is stepping up digital incursions into Russia’s electric power grid in a warning to President Vladimir V. Putin.” In particular, the Times reported that the United States has deployed code “inside Russia’s grid and other targets”—that is, “potentially crippling malware inside the Russian system, … intended partly as a warning, and partly to be poised to conduct cyberstrikes if a major conflict broke out between Washington and Moscow.” The article also noted that this step would represent a major escalation in the ongoing cyber conflict between Moscow and the United States.
That claim is probably true, though one has to wonder if June 15 should represent the point in time when the United States achieved these capabilities or only the point in time when the United States started talking publicly about its capabilities. The former, of course, would be the escalation step. It would not be the latter, unless we assume that the Russians were entirely oblivious to U.S. attempts at penetrating their electric grid before the Times story.

Defending New York City’s digital front line(Cipher Brief)
Defending New Yorkers against criminals and terrorists has been a priority for city leaders and law enforcement for quite some time, but in the last couple of years, officials have taken more aggressive steps to protect the city from the threat actors that often go unseen but can wreak havoc with city infrastructure, leading to loss of life, in the worst case scenario.
Cyber threat actors have targeted several U.S. cities in recent years.  Officials from Atlanta to Baltimore can tell you just how these cyber criminals strike and how important it is for cities to be prepared.
There have also been warnings from intelligence officials for years that a Cyber 9/11 is coming – an attack that could target national critical infrastructure – and leaders in New York are taking a similar approach to the one they took after 9/11, and not waiting on the federal government, or relying on its resources, to protect them.
Earlier this year, officials announced the creation of the New York City Cyber Critical Services and Infrastructure (CCSI), which is a group dedicated to making sure lines of communication between the public and private sectors are being utilized in ways that will secure critical city functions from emergency services to nuclear reactors.  They are doing it much like they did after 9/11 to protect the city from further terrorist attacks, by sharing intelligence and providing coordinated responses to cyber events.