According to a report on this issue from The Wall Street Journal, the foreign spies were responsible for the “pervasive” breach. And that’s not all. The cyber spies did not do a very good job of covering their tracks, or did not want to. The hackers left behind them software that could be used to shut down the system. 

 

The spies breached the system in order to look for ways of manipulating it, said the report that cited the U.S. national security officials. Although no harm was done to the electrical grid, this kind of attack could very easily be used in case of a conflict between the nations. Imagine if in case of a conflict, the Chinese or Russians would have the capability to take control of a nuclear power plant in the U.S.!

 

The report said that this cyber breach did not seam to target a specific region of the country or a company. The software that was detected so far in the electricity grid was aimed at destroying of the system’s infrastructure components, but cyber attacks could also target water or sewage system, or other similar attacks that can have catastrophic effects. 

 

"The vulnerability is something [we] have known about for years," said US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "We acknowledge that... in this world, in an increasingly cyber world, these are increasing risks."

 

According to a report revealed a few weeks ago and which was addressing the same issue, someone with $500 worth of equipment and the right training could penetrate the electricity grid and disrupt the system where it wishes. The same report said that the Smart Grid, which delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, has proven to be very vulnerable to this kind of attacks after a series of tests were carried out. the tests were performed by IOActive, a Seattle security consultancy, and InGuardians, a network security research and consulting firm. 

 

The Smart Grid consists of a network of computers that are connected to the electricity grid and increase the efficiency of its management. There are about 2 million such devices in use, and many more will soon be deployed. 

 

The administration is making efforts to remedy the problem. President Barack Obama has ordered a comprehensive cyber security review that addresses the strength and the security of the grid. The review is expected to be completed this week. The U.S. congress is also involved. It currently considers passing a cyber security bill that would implement considerable changes in the policy that currently oversees the national computer network.