Infrastructure protection

Protecting infrastructure from natural hazards
Accurate mapping data plays an important role in improving the resilience of the U.K.’s critical infrastructure to disruption from natural hazards
- Read more
Chemical industry hit by “Nitro” cyberattacks
In a string of cyberattacks, hackers have stolen critical formulas and plans from major chemical companies; the latest attacks, dubbed “Nitro,” were uncovered by Symanetec, which reported the hackers aims were corporate espionage rather than a terrorist attempt to procure chemicals
- Read more

Big asteroid to fly uncomfortably close to Earth
A hefty asteroid — dubbed asteroid 2005 YU55 — will zoom uncomfortable close to Earth on Tuesday, 8 November; the asteroid is classified as a potentially hazardous object, but it poses no threat of an Earth collision — for at least the next 100 years; scientists say the asteroid is a reminder that our planet is just a sitting duck in a cosmic shooting gallery
- Read more
DHS warns Anonymous may target critical infrastructure
DHS is warning critical infrastructure operators that the international hacking group known as Anonymous has threatened to attack industrial control systems, the software that governs automated processes for nearly every major utility or production facility including factories, power stations, chemical plants, and pharmacies
- Read more

Army engineers need $1 billion to repair damaged levees
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is urgently requesting $1 billion to repair flood control systems along the Mississippi and Missouri river basins following damage from record floods this spring; the historic flooding forced the corps to blow up portions of the levee to relieve pressure, flooding thousands of acres of farmland to protect cities along the rivers
- Read more
Sector Report for Monday, 31 October 2011: Infrastructure protection
This report contains the following stories.
* More than 18,000 bridges in metro areas structurally deficient

* Senior FBI official suggest creating alternative Internet

* Electrical grid targeted by hackers

* Also noted
Plus 1 additional story.
Read more

More than 18,000 bridges in metro areas structurally deficient
A recently released report found that more than 18,000 U.S. bridges in the busiest cities are “structurally deficient”; each day 75 percent of all traffic crosses one of these deficient bridges and in cities like Los Angeles, an average of 396 drivers cross a deficient bridge every second
- Read more
Electrical grid targeted by hackers
The co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus warns that U.S. electrical grids are becoming increasingly attractive targets for hackers in a potential cyberwar
- Read more

Napolitano: hackers "came close" to shutting down critical infrastructure
On Thursday DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano revealed that hackers have “come close” to shutting down parts of the nation’s critical infrastructure; at a press conference Napolitano stated that hackers have attempted to infiltrate financial systems, transportation networks, and other key elements of U.S. critical infrastructure, making cyberattacks on these facilities one of her top concerns
- Read more
Formation of Senate and House rare Earth minerals caucuses urged
The Association for Rare Earth yesterday urged the creation of Senate and House caucuses to focus on the challenges of securing supplies of rare Earth elements for U.S. high technology, clean energy, and defense communities
- Read more

New Stuxnet-like virus hits Europe
The dreaded Stuxnet worm, which was the first instance of a computer virus creating physical damage, may have spawned a dangerous new piece of malware; researchers at Symantec believe they have discovered a new computer virus that uses many of the same techniques in European computers
- Read more
FBI better prepared to thwart bioterror attack on U.S.
The FBI says that in the decade since deadly anthrax spores were sent through the mail in 2001, killing five people and sickening twenty-two others, it has made significant advances in efforts to prevent and identify bio-terror threats
- Read more

Squirrel causes explosion, knocks out Connecticut town’s power
Last week more than 14,000 homes in Greenwich, Connecticut were left without power after a squirrel managed to find its way into a substation and caused an explosion that sent flames shooting 150 feet into the air
- Read more
A precursor to the next Stuxnet discovered
Symantec reports the discovery of a sample malware that appeared to be very similar to Stuxnet, the malware which wreaked havoc in Iran’s nuclear centrifuge farms last summer; the new malware — dubbed Duqu — is essentially the precursor to a future Stuxnet-like attack; the threat was written by the same authors (or those that have access to the Stuxnet source code); Duqu gathers intelligence data and assets from entities, such as industrial control system manufacturers, in order more easily to conduct a future attack against another third party
- Read more
Improving critical infrastructure protection
Salt River Project (SRP), the U.S. third-largest public power utility, recently announced that it had teamed with Quantum Secure to help protect its facilities
- Read more

More headlines