This isn't the first time something like this had happened. What is DHS for if not preventing attacks like this?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metcalf_sniper_attack
Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
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Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#132A grenade (or IED) or two thrown in coordination into a few of those local-area transformer / power distribution stations would cause state-level chaos. Where I live, these seemingly critical infrastructure outposts, are protected by nothing more than high chicken-wire fences. Cyber Squirrel is the best and longest-lived exemplification of the sensitivity and scale of this vulnerability: https://cybersquirrel1.com/ T…
A VHS cassette tape thrown over transmission lines in the middle of nowhere coordinated at 3 or 4 key locations would do that too… and much easier ordinance to acquire. NMS systems can’t react and load shedding chaos is likely.
I think a lot about how terrorists don't act and I guess I don't understand their motives. Electric grids, fiber optic lines, train tracks, bridges, water mains, sewage treatment, all of these can be pretty easily disrupted with equipment that isn't hard to get and doesn't require extensive training. And the disruption could be extreme.
I mean, I'm glad they're not doing any of this, but I'm puzzled.
Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#133Wait, so Ukraine can restore power in half a day in the middle of a war, but a county in the middle of the US takes a week?
Ukraine has more or less had electrical infrastructure going down on a daily basis for months. Likely a tad more prepared for routing around sudden destruction of equipment.
Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#134U.S Department of Energy Secretary commented on the situation less than an hour ago, indicating that their CESER team is activated - https://twitter.com/SecGranholm/status/1599556157898735618
Tweet not found;
Secretary Jennifer Granholm - @SecGranholm - 1h
I've been in contact w/ @DukeEnergy about the vandalism causing power outages for customers in Moore County, NC
and the @DOE_CESER team is working w/ federal partners.
Law enforcement is investigating this serious incident and Duke is working around the clock to restore service.
Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#135Vast majority of physical infrastructure has no security beyond a rickety fence. It is good that most terrorists are as mentally unstable as they are, because a rational person with some easily homemade bombs could easily disable most anything they want with no real chance at being caught.
Bombs seems like too much work. I think you could drive a truck into most electrical stations too much the same effect.
Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hah. My point was that it's scarily easy. I like that your point is that it's way scarily easiER. Wouldn't Beta be slightly more effective? /s
Yeah. The VHS thought experiment came from a brainstorm with an old timer after 9/11 about how to protect network infrastructure. You simply can’t.
The best protection may well be the nigh-impossible 'satisfaction of your constituents'; good government, good social services, equality of opportunity.
The pursuit of which can, ironically, result in the opposite, as those with existing privilege flail against its erosion by claiming it is doing otherwise, thus fomenting dissatisfaction amongst some of those who would actually be better off.
The subjectivity of any position within the spectrum above provides the impossibility. The long-horizon of any such decisions cannot be seen with any clarity, which this proverb captures nicely:
A farmer and his son had a beloved horse who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbours exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild horses back to the farm as well. The neighbours shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the horses and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The neighbours cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not.”
A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, because he had a broken leg. The neighbours shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#137Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#138A grenade (or IED) or two thrown in coordination into a few of those local-area transformer / power distribution stations would cause state-level chaos. Where I live, these seemingly critical infrastructure outposts, are protected by nothing more than high chicken-wire fences. Cyber Squirrel is the best and longest-lived exemplification of the sensitivity and scale of this vulnerability: https://cybersquirrel1.com/ T…
Don't underestimate meth heads looking for copper. I knew a power company employee that told me there were more than a couple of incidents of a tweeker getting fried at the local sub station after they scaled a 9-foot wall covered with warning signs, topped with razor wire, and monitored by a few security cameras...presumably with the notion they'd get a whole lot of copper out of there while everything was energized.
Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#139Re: Emergency declared and curfew imposed following North Carolina power grid attack
#140Reminds me of this Bay Area incident from 2013 that has never been explained publicly:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304851104579359...