Truth or Consequences - China Hackers Threaten USA Power Grid

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This week we were informed that Chinese hackers could disable the United States Power Grid and paralyze the American economy.   The following extract came from The Inquisitr Online.

 

The Inquisitr‎   November 20, 2014

NSA Director Says Chinese Cyber Hackers Can Shut Down U.S. Power Grid

NSA Director Michael Rogers says that Chinese cyber hackers can shut down the power grid in the United States and essentially end life as we know it in America. According to the federal official, China and “one or two” other countries are capable of launching cyberattacks that terminate the ability of the power grid to function and shut down other “critical systems” nationwide.

The real possibility of massive and devastating power grid cyberattacks has long been discussed by both national security experts and the five million prepper families in the United States, but has not officially been confirmed by a “top cyber official” in the federal government until now. Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, not long after leaving office, that a cyberattack on the power grid was a matter of “when,” not “if.”

During a House Intelligence Committee hearing, NSA Director Michael Rogers said “adversaries” of the United States are currently engaging in “electronic reconnaissance” on a regular basis. Such activities are being conducted in order to ensure that China and other adversarial nations are “in a position to disrupt the industrial control systems” such as the power grid, which enable food and medication delivery and allow chemical facilities and water treatment plants to function.

The NSA director also said, “All of that leads me to believe it is only a matter of when, not if, we are going to see something dramatic. [In cyberspace] You can literally do almost anything you want, and there is not a price to pay for it.”

What is wrong with this picture?  On May 21, 2001, nearly four months BEFORE the tragic 9-11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center at a News Conference at the National Press Center in Washington, D.C. a new company announced a cyber security system that could block any cyber attack on our power grid and any other critical digital operations in America.

Who was the first client of Invicta Networks,  the new company, the NSA.  So this week, 13 years later, NSA admits we have no defense for our power grid from a cyber attack.  Yet 13 years ago, they were testing a system that could protect our power grid.  What happened?

Special briefings were presented to the top cyber officials in the White House, Pentagon, and Intelligence agencies including the cyber czars like Richard A. Clarke for President Bush and President Obama.

In the time since 9-11 our government spent billions and billions of dollars on cyber security to protect the economy, banks, the power grid, classified government data bases and who knows what else.  Yet in the past year hackers have stolen over 500 million credit card, banking and phone records of our citizens.  Some protection.

The same ineffective computer security companies that dominated the Internet in 2001 dominate the Internet in 2014 except many have been acquired by giant defense contractors.  So the same companies that control the most powerful weapons systems in the world also dominate cyber security in the world.  Do you feel more secure as a result?  

Certainly the systems are not working if NSA says we are vulnerable.

Contrary to what NSA said, China is not the only threat.  There are Russian hackers, former Russian KGB and now Russian mob hackers, hackers from the Netherlands, the independent group Anonymous and of course employees and contractors for our very own intelligence agencies (remember Edward Snowden and NSA).

Congress should investigate why the White House national security advisors and USA intelligence agencies ignored solutions to our problems over the years and blocked companies like Invicta from protecting American assets.  Perhaps the true extent of our deception has not been discovered.

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