I was going to post this in GD but thought it would have more interest here. I never knew Russia potientially had access and some control to some of our power grids.......Definitly a good reminder to prepare for a likely long term black out should we get into a conflict with Russia or its allies.

Article

This was posted in GD yesterday. Consensus was more than likely fake news.

This

I doubt Russian electric infrastructure has a whole lot that can be fucked with through the internet.

NY Times is reporting this.

In 2019 you have to be willfully ignorant to believe just because a computer system is not online that it is not vulnerable to cyber attack.

The Stuxnet attacks occurred in 2010:

“Blackout! Are we Prepared to Manage the Aftermath of a Cyber-Attack or Other Failure of the Electrical Grid?” shows that Congress and FEMA are openly prepping for cyber attacks on the US power grid:

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate 2016

March 15, 2018 Russian Hackers Attacking U.S. Power Grid and Aviation, FBI Warns

But since Snopes says they were just mechanical failures,  I'm sure the 2017 Blackouts that hit LA, New York and San Francisco were just a coincidence

Snowden (2016): It's Not About Terrorism



Got backup power?  For how long?

Solar is looking better and better

Nitro Zeus explained

How would the NY Times even know?

Fake news.

It's not all about Russia, they are pushing the "Russians are to blame for everything and they colluded with Trump" narrative.

When one man owns over 85% of the news media thru six corporations and he's a Saudi national criminalized in his own country, you need to take these things with a grain of salt and keep in mind the news media is compromised from the top down.

CNN anyone?

Its been publicly predicted the NY Times won't last out the next ten years if that. Unless they got eyewitness statements of actually hacking the network and doing it all, there is no way to corroborate their suggestions that something was going on. And anyone who is officially investigating this is no longer leaking stuff to the press anymore. That game changer has occured in the last two years. This is why it's much more difficult to establish because official investigations are no longer being leaked to the press as their publicity agents.

I give you Muellers Report and the absolutely devastating lack of results which were so heavily promised. To the press, Trump was going to be perpwalked into Impeachment. Did not happen and can not happen. Worse yet, no evidence, just innuendo. Nothing of substance that would stand scrutiny in court.

There is massive butthurt over that, the news dribbling out of the entire procedure was a set up. The press got it absolutely wrong and will continue to push tin foil conspiracy theories of no substance in order to cover up the corruption they are hip deep in covering up.

It's happening. Wake up.

The legacy media has been pushing lies for a long time.  Their years of crying wolf on Trump has certainly destroyed their reputation.  It is very understandable that half the country doesn't believe anything the legacy media says anymore.

But that said, Snowden and other NSA leaks show that Cyberwar that targets enemies, allies, neutrals, civilians, women and children has been in the works for a very long time by folks who care nothing for morality, US Law, or the Geneva conventions.

Cyberwar isn't just taking place in places like Iran.  It is happening here.  You need to wake up.  We are all on the front lines.

Every Soldier a Cyber Warrior

Great. It's proof that despite the election of Trump, the neocons haven't been dissuaded from their desired war.

Yep.  The neocons like to plan ahead:

"Take out 7 Countries in 5 Years" (2001)


Even though warmongers like FDR provoke countries like Japan into attacking us, it doesn't mean that Japan didn't actually attack Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941.

Wesley Clark? What a tool.
We provoked Japan into attacking us? You're kidding, right?

Spiked USB drives were planted for sale in local shops around US military facilities in Afghanistan

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-planted-bugged-thumb-drives-to-break-into-us-govt-computers-2017-3

Flash drives won't work on NIPR or SIPR systems.  All the USB ports are locked and scanned...if someone inserts a flash drive, it locks the computer down, disables the user's account, and they hone in on the IP address and user account.  While flash drives are dangerous in personal computers, most government systems have eliminated their use.  We had an incident back about 8-9 years ago and have since eliminated their use in the .mil network.  I don't know about other agencies, but I know the nuclear plant systems and USACE have eliminated their use as well.  USACAE is much more difficult given the open-network design for many of the locks and dams.  There are vulnerabilities, but flash drives are pretty much ineffective now.

ROCK6

The original soviet electrical power distribution systems were designed with redundancy. All electrical power consumers were divided into 3 categories:
First category was assigned to consumers where power interruption may lead to loss of life, loss of very important production, damage to important industrial equipment and processes (line nuclear reactors).
Second category was assigned to places like hospitals, electric public transportation, industrial processes where power interruption will cause loss of production etc.
Third category was assigned to public housing and commercial consumers where power interruption can be allowed.

All 1st and 2nd category consumers were supplied with a redundant power feeds. Dual power lines and dual transformers were supplying power to those consumers. Dual power lines and transformers were installed on the supply side. Power lines and transformers were designed to only carry half the normal maximum current. If anything happens of one side of the supply, the second side will simply be loaded to it's full designed power carrying capacity thus providing redundancy and uninterrupted electrical power supply. Third category was only limited to a single supply line and a single power transformer feeds (non-redundant).

I once briefly worked at large factory in Central Russia, as a requirement for my summer practice at the university. I once asked the chief engineer if they have experienced any power failures. His answer was - "It never happened in the 40 years this plant has been in operation".
I'm sure, nowadays they have a lot more automation and computer controlled power distribution systems. I'd be surprised if they don't have a redundant system to bypass all computer controlled automation to keep the power going to consumers.
Also, Russian infrastructure doesn't rely on computers and internet as heavily as the US infrastructure. The heavy redundancy mentality goes back to the Soviet days where redundancy was more important than installation and maintenance costs.

There have been stories already about various parts of the power grid having been broken into. Here's one: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-13/us-electric-grid-hacked-perpetrators-could-have-shut-down-system This article from the WSJ blames the Rooskies. I'm not convinced it was them vs the Chinese but for sure SOMEBODY broke in to the intermediary systems belonging to contractors and were in a position to wreak havoc upon the grid.

It would not be reasonable to assume that the US doesn't have a corps of people whose job it is to test vulnerabilities in our potential adversaries. It would also be reasonable to assume that our potential adversaries are doing the same to us.

I have methods for short term power (folding solar and generator) but not for long-term power outages like a complete grid down caused by either CME or foreign actors.

Day-Deceit-Truth-About-Harbor

The author of the book even agrees with FDR doing it.

Then after Japan attacked the US, FDR diverted 90% of the US war effort against Europe... true story

- Former NSA analyst

Iranian hackers wage cyber campaign