• Electrical grid needs cybersecurity oversight: study

    In a recently released report, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that a single federal agency should be tasked with protecting the United States’ electrical grid from cyberattacks; the Obama administration has proposed that DHS assume responsibility for the grid, while Congress has submitted proposals for both the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

  • MIT report warns U.S. electrical grid vulnerable

    A new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology warns that the U.S. electrical grid is vulnerable to cyberatacks; according to the report, the U.S. electrical grid’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities stem from weaknesses in processes, technology, as well as the actual physical environment

  • SCADA systems’ vulnerability key weakness in Smart Grid deployments

    The discovery of the Stuxnet worm in 2010 shone a harsh light on the fragility of industrial control systems (ICS), such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, and has created a new urgency among security vendors and utility managers alike; new research forecasts that investments in ICS security will total $4.1 billion during the years between 2011 and 2018

  • NERC CIP-compliant grid security reporting tool

    NERC CIP Standard is a comprehensive framework of physical and cyber security best practices to safeguard the bulk power system for North America; Skybox Security shows NERC CIP-compliant grid security reporting tool

  • Electrical grids in state of “chaos,” report finds

    A recent report warned that the world’s electrical grid is in a “state of near chaos,” leaving it vulnerable to a devastating cyberattack; the report, released by Pike Research, found that a simple $60 smart phone app could enable an attack on smart grids due to an aging infrastructure, a lack of standards, and inadequate spending

  • 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

  • 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

  • Danish designer wins completion for new U.K. pylons

    There are 88,000 pylons in the United Kingdom, carrying 400,000 volts of electricity over thousands of miles across the country; the design of the pylons has barely changed in eighty years – and a winner has just been announced in the competition for a new pylon design

  • 'Thinking machines' will run future power grids

    Plans to develop the smart grid — a system that uses intelligent computer networks to manage electric power — cannot succeed without the creation of new “thinking machines” that can learn and adapt to new situations, from power outages along the grid to fluctuations in the power supply

  • InfraGard launches EMP SIG

    InfraGard has launched a nationwide special interest group (SIG) — named the EMP SIG, after electromagnetic pulse — which will focus on threats that could cause nationwide long-term critical infrastructure collapse

  • Designing a new grid pylon

    There are more than 88,000 pylons in the United Kingdom; they stand some 50-meters high, weigh around twenty tons, and carry up to 400,000 volts of electricity over thousands of kilometers of some of the most exposed, weather-beaten parts of Britain; the familiar steel lattice tower has barely changed since the 1920s; National Grid says it is time for a change

  • Bill calls for all utility plant worker background checks

    Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York) will introduce new legislation that would require all major utility plants to run background checks on its employees; the bill would require FBI background checks on all employees of all major utility plants, strengthening the current requirement which mandates such checks only at nuclear power plants

  • Boeing and Siemens join forces to protect smart grid

    In a bid to improve efficiency and security for the Pentagon’s electrical “smart grid,” defense giant Boeing has teamed up with German technology conglomerate Siemens to develop new technologies

  • "Amplified" nanotubes for efficient, loss-free grid

    The current U.S. copper-based grid leaks electricity at an estimated 5 percent per 100 miles of transmission; Rice University researchers have achieved a breakthrough in the development of a cable that will make an efficient electric grid of the future possible; the armchair quantum wire (AQW) will be a weave of metallic nanotubes that can carry electricity with negligible loss over long distances

  • New York governor determined to close Indian Point nuclear plant

    The Indian Point nuclear power plant, located thirty-five miles north of New York City, is facing increasing pressure from Governor Andrew Cuomo and senior officials say the governor is determined to shut it down; the governor’s hand has been strengthened by new legislation that streamlines the approval process for siting new power plants in New York, a move that would make it easier to replace Indian Point; closing the nuclear plant would be a major step toward reshaping the state’s energy policy as the plant produces 2,000 megawatts and provides New York City and Westchester with 25 percent of their power — but the nuclear disaster in Japan caused by the 11 March earthquake and tsunami raised fresh concerns about the plant, which is located near a fault line