Russia has developed a cyberweapon that can disrupt power grids, according to new research

[herding cats]

Source: Washington Post

Hackers allied with the Russian government have devised a cyberweapon that has the potential to be the most disruptive yet against electric systems that Americans depend on for daily life, according to U.S. researchers.

The malware, which researchers have dubbed CrashOverride, is known to have disrupted only one energy system — in Ukraine in December. In that incident, the hackers briefly shut down one-fifth of the electric power generated in Kiev.

[Russian hackers suspected in attack that blacked out parts of Ukraine]

But with modifications, it could be deployed against U.S. electric transmission and distribution systems to devastating effect, said Sergio Caltagirone, director of threat intelligence for Dragos, a cybersecurity firm that studied the malware and issued a report on Monday.

And Russian government hackers have already shown their interest in targeting U.S. energy and other utility systems, researchers said.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-has-developed-a-cyber-weapon-that-can-disrupt-power-grids-according-to-new-research/2017/06/11/b91b773e-4eed-11e7-91eb-9611861a988f_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_russiascyber-810a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.a8af7a816061

[Zoonart]

1. Lights Out

Read LIGHTS OUT, by Ted Koppel, who believes that this attack is coming not IF but WHEN. Scary stuff.

[CrispyQ]

4. It's at my library. Picking it up later today.

Thanks for the referral.

[CrispyQ]

2. That will wake up a few more Americans.

We have no fucking clue how unprepared we are.

[RKP5637]

3. We don't. Far too many Americans take everything for granted in la la land, like it will

just keep ticking along.

[Xolodno]

9. Yeah because...

..upgrading and updating our electrical infrastructure is a liberal agenda. But building more tanks keeps people employed in conservative districts.

[elmac]

5. Power grids have been getting upgraded

keeping them isolated from outside interference and from one another. No system is perfect but I don't see this as a big problem for this country. Russia is probably more vulnerable then us.

[LanternWaste]

6. What specifically leads you to that particular conclusion?

"I don't see this as a big problem for this country..."

What specifically (and objectively) leads you to that particular conclusion?

[Calista241]

11. The fact that we've known about this problem for over 2 decades.

Standard procedure is now to isolate networks running critical infrastructure like power grids. The power blackout in the northeast a decade ago taught us a lot.

Does that mean there are no vulnerabilities? No, but shutting off our power is a clear hostile act and would gain them nothing except some inconvenience of American citizens, since the grids would be back up in a matter of days.

The military would be largely unaffected, since their critical systems are isolated and capable of running off internal, isolated generators.

And you're talking about America, we invented the internet and currently supply the vast majority of the backbone hardware to it. Until recently, our government assigned IP addresses and managed all the routing for all internet traffic. And while Obama turned that over to an international organization, its all still located here. Tre employees that manage it are here. We could cut off internet access to entire countries if we wanted to. Ultimately every person on the globe uses the internet at our sufferance.

[DeminPennswoods]

7. Years ago,

I heard 1 EA-6B Prowler could wipe out all electronics for the entire east coast megalopolis if it turned on its jammer.

[GoCubsGo]

8. I don't doubt that the US also has such capabilities.

Probably several other countries, as well. But, good for the WaPo for bringing it to everyone's attention. It's good incentive to make sure one's emergency preparations are ready. Especially in light of the fact that NOAA and FEMA still do not have directors--at the start of hurricane season, and the summer tornado season.

[John1956PA]

10. In 1987, a TV movie offered the premises of a USSR takeover via electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack.

From the Wikipedia article on "Amerika" (1987):

Backstory

Towards the end of the 1980s, as the decline of the Soviet Union puts it in danger of losing the Cold War, the Soviet leadership makes a desperate gamble to rearrange the global balance of power. Four large thermonuclear weapons are detonated in the ionosphere over the United States. The resulting electromagnetic pulse (or EMP) destroys the nation's communications and computer systems, cripples the American electrical grid, and affects any equipment that relies on computer technology, such as most late-model automobiles. With its ICBMs inoperative—and the National Command Authority unable to contact U.S. military forces abroad or their foreign allies in western Europe to launch a counterattack—America is forced to accept Soviet terms for surrender: unilateral disarmament, the end of the dollar as a reserve currency, and integration into the Soviet military/economic bloc. The United States quickly falls under Soviet military occupation under the command of Russian General Petya Samanov, and the U.S. President and U.S. Congress become mere figureheads for their Soviet overseers.

The above events are implied in the miniseries, although never directly explained. The description is taken from the novelization of the miniseries, "Amerika": The Triumph of the American Spirit by Brauna E. Pouns and Donald Wrye (Pocket Books, 1987), based on Wrye's screenplay. Communications between the administrative areas have been cut off, and the damage to the electrical grid caused by the EMP attack has never been fully repaired.

[Noodleboy13]

12. The movie "Zero Days" touches on this.

The movie is a documentary on the Stuxnet virus that targeted Iranian nuclear centrifuges. It was part of an arsenal of cyber weapons developed by the NSA. They called it Olympic Games. They also mentioned something called Nitro Zeus that, iirc, targets power grids.

Believing a network secure because it's not 'hooked up to the internet' is unwise. These tools are designed to deal with air gaps.

The problem is that once Stuxnet was isolated and studied, it became apparent that it was sophisticated malware designed by a nation-state. Now the code is out there, and with modifications be used for all sorts of international mischief.

I highly recommend the movie btw.

peace,
Noodleboy