Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» "US officials are allegedly privately worried that Russia stole blueprints for US blackout power restoration." Meaning what exactly?
"allegedly" - we don't know if they did or not; but only those who need to know either way, should know.
"blueprints" - not literally dye-line prints, but do they exist as files on Internet-connected computers, or only as paper documents in filing-cabinets? The former implies hacking - are there serious weaknesses in the utility's IT network security? The latter implies an agent within the power companies, secretly copying them.
In theory, yes it might mean they could block restoring power - but can the system's operators over-ride that blocking by switching it to manual control?
You know Durdle I may have mentioned this to you before. For years I have been very worried about a MASSIVE power failure due to hostile attacks. Not bombs or bullets but cyber warfare. The sword of Damocles hanging overhead by a single thread. If they have that ability and I don't doubt it for one minute when will they use it and why haven't they already? What happens without power? We are very vulnerable then aren't we? What is the worst case scenario and how long could we survive? Thank you for your reply. Any day now? Which enemy? We have so many! :(
This post was edited by RosieG at January 6, 2021 2:21 AM MST
I think cyber attacks on national systems and services are regarded as a very real and serious threat generally, and I believe countries have sleep-walked into it by basing so much of their work on a single, near-universal set of software without proper safeguards.
If some other country has not attacked the USA's electricity system so far it's probably because it has felt no need to do so, but if for any reason war were to break out between the USA and that country I would not be surprised if that would among their weapons.
How long you could survive it would depend very much on how the system is damaged, and how soon it is repaired. If someone drops a rake of bombs on a power-station it would take far longer to repair or replace it than if they simply stopped it by freezing the computer system controlling it. A power-station should be capable of being run manually if necessary. After all, power-stations and national grids were controlled by real people reading meters and operating switches in control-rooms for decades before computers were available.
So my fear is well-founded and not simply a fantasy of a crazy old lady? Well that's very comforting on one level but on the other? Geez. If our power grid were destroyed what effect would that have on your country or other countries? It's a big huge worry but honestly I don't know anything about the mechanics of it or the possible effects. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. General worry without specific or specific worry? I'll ask. Thank you for your informative reply. Or. Are all power grids of all countries the same?
Durdle 