Cyber Attack By China On Power Grid Alleged

China may be waging an invisible war on the United States power grid. High-tech spying tactics have become commonplace in our modern world, as the ongoing NSA scandal and President Barack Obama’s afternoon press conference aptly note. A cyber warfare threats study posed by ABC News appears to coin with a more recent order for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to prepare for war. Chinese president Xi Jinping spewed 7,500 plus words of “militaristic rhetoric” to state media pertaining to preparedness efforts by the largest army in the entire world. According to a New York Times report, the National Security Agency placed software in approximately 100,000 computers around the world to create a trail that can be used to launch cyber attacks.

United States intelligence agencies are reportedly spending “hundreds of billions of dollars” each year to combat cyber hacking attempts against both the power grid and corporations. One of the top targets of the People’s Liberation Army is allegedly Lockheed Martin. The company is the largest defense contractor in the United States. Government officials have acknowledged the distinct similarities between the F-35 fighter jet and a version of the plane manufactured in China.

An older cyber warfare report published by The Telegraph claims that both China and Russia may have “dropped bugs” into power grid software that could ultimately be used to disrupt the electrical system supply. “The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid. So have the Russians,” an unidentified senior intelligence official stated during a Wall Street Journal interview.

The power grid has reportedly been under a constant state of attack by English-speaking Chinese computer experts nestled in a rather unimposing building in Shanghai. The alleged cyber attacks by the computer hackers pose as significant a threat to America as the two million soldiers in Chinese army ever could, if the cyber warfare studies by the Mandiant security firm are accurate. Technological Leadership Institute Director Massoud Amin believes the power grid problems are fixable, but a major change in the culture of the utilities industry would be required.

Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that a cyber attack on the power grid was a matter of “if” and not “when.” Crippling the power grid would be perhaps the quickest way to destroy the American economy and decrease the effectiveness of the United States military. The People’s Liberation Army would not have to step foot on American soil or fire a single shot in order to win a silent war virtually.

The still unsolved attack on a San Jose, California power station, that occurred just a few hours after the Boston Marathon bombing, garnered little media attention.House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Henry Waxman recently helped bring the event to light and feels that incident cold indicate a broader power grid security problem. “It is clear that the electric grid is not adequately protected from physical or cyber attacks,” Representative Waxman stated during a regulatory issues meeting in December. The Congressman deemed the power grid incident an “unprecedented and sophisticated” electrical grid attack.

Amin had this to say about the vulnerabilities to the power grid:

“The sky is not falling, but we’re not bulletproof. The solution deals with policy and technology and we can do it. We need to. We can and we must do this if we are going to remain an economic superpower. Bottom line is that this is not something we can pass onto the next generation.”

In addition to the power grid, the government intelligence staffer also believes that the water and sewer infrastructure systems were at risk from Chinese and Russian cyber hackers as well. The United States Defense Department spent approximately $100 million repairing cyber warfare damage during just a six month period in 2009. Global Operations Joint Task Force Deputy Commander General John Davis warned administration officials that cyber attacks pose an increasingly significant threat to both corporate and government networks.

An excerpt from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Mission Action 2013 editorial published by the state media:

“[The Mission Action 2013 exercise was a part of a move] to deepen preparations for potential conflict to ensure that the troops are ready if called upon not only to fight, but to win.”

The editorial by the Chinese leader went on to note threats allegedly posed by Japan over the Senkaku Islands, domestic terrorism attacks, and the enhanced United States military presence in the Asia Pacific region as reasons for the PLA to become more battle ready.

Do you think the federal government is addressing cyber attack threats appropriately?