Our electrical grid is an accident waiting to happen.
In recent months, we’ve been told some things that patriots like us have long suspected. A report has recently been declassified that reveals that due to the U.S. electric grid’s old technology, lack of spare capacity and incapability of keeping pace with the increasing burden being placed upon it, the grid is vulnerable to a sophisticated physical assault that could produce catastrophic results.
Everyone has known for many years that the grid is vulnerable to extreme weather, including intense heat in the South, tornados in the heartland, hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and blizzards in the Northeast. I can’t remember the last time a month passed without a serious power outage occurring due to the weather.
Now we’re starting to learn a little more about why the grid is vulnerable to cyber attacks. As our power generation systems become more complex, they become more reliable. But at the same time, they become more vulnerable because as the design becomes more complex, the interactions between the components start to dominate the overall design.
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article titled, “Hacking the Grid ‘Is Very Easy.” The article points out that while the systems used to control industrial equipment such as turbines and other power-generation gear are supposed to be offline, they are actually often connected to the Internet and therefore exposed to cyber attacks. Meet you on the other side.
Reading this, you can see that computer security firm Mandiant Corporation blames China for a high percentage of the attacks on American corporations, organizations and government. Of course, China blames the U.S. for a vast majority of attacks on its computer systems.
As individuals, we know that the best way to become independent of the electrical grid is to power our homes with solar and wind energy. But the country still needs a reliable electrical grid. What do you believe the U.S. response should be to an electrical grid that is so old and so vulnerable? Fixing it would be very expensive, but wouldn’t those costs be worth it compared to the costs of repeated power outages? Please let me know what you think about this.
Poster Comment:
Every now and then, the power goes out here where I live. It usually comes back on in short order, but this is proof of what they re saying is true on here. ;)