Energy secretary says adversaries have capability of shutting down US power grid

From CNN.com (June 6):

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Sunday warned in stark terms that the US power grid is vulnerable to attacks.

Asked By CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" whether the nation's adversaries have the capability of shutting it down, Granholm said: "Yeah, they do."

"There are thousands of attacks on all aspects of the energy sector and the private sector generally," she said, adding, "It's happening all the time. This is why the private sector and the public sector have to work together."

The secretary's warning comes amid a rise in ransomware attacks in America's public and private sectors in the recent weeks, creating a sense of urgency in the Biden administration on how to confront cyber vulnerabilities. The issue will take an outsized role during President Joe Biden's first foreign trip this week, during which he is set to talk with European leaders and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland.

Last week, the White House issued a letter to companies calling on them to take the threat of ransomware attacks more seriously, following back-to-back attacks by Russian hackers against the Colonial Pipeline Company last month and the JBS meatpacking plant.

Asked Sunday on NBC if the US government is better prepared to deal with another potential ransomware attack on a gasoline pipeline, Granholm said new regulations from the Transportation Security Administration, which regulates pipelines, now require companies to report when attacks are happening in real time.

"The TSA actually just put out a series of regulations requiring pipelines to let us know if they have been the victim, and whenever in the real-time... where are these attacks happening, so that we know and we can coordinate with our intelligence community to determine not just how to respond in the long-term, but how to respond immediately. So to that extent, yes," Granholm said on "Meet The Press."

The energy secretary stressed that the private sector needs to work with the Biden administration to establish cyber standards for pipelines. [read more]

I wonder if strengthening the power grid is in the infrastructure bill? Probably not.

More articles on the subject:

• North Korean Cyberattacks Pose Threat to US
• Texas’ Winter Electrical Grid Failures Highlight Nation’s Vulnerability to EMP Attacks