Electricity Grid In US Penetrated By Spies
Associated Press达拉斯的一座电网监控室据现任和前任美国国家安全官员透露，网络间谍已经侵入美国电网，并留下可能用来破坏电力系统的软件程序。官员们说，这些间谍来自中国和俄罗斯等国，据信是在执行勘查美国电力系统及其控制系统的任务。入侵者尚未试图破坏电网或其他关键性基础设施，不过官员们警告说，这些人可能会在危机或战争期间试图加以破坏。一位高级情报官员说，中国人试图勘查我们的基础设施部署，比如电网；俄罗斯人也曾企图这样做。一位前美国国土安全部官员说，间谍活动看起来遍及美国各地，并非针对某个特定的公司或地区。他在谈到电力系统时说，有侵入活动，而且越来越多，去年发生了很多起。官员们说，很多网络入侵活动并不是负责基础设施的公司发现的，而是被美国情报部门发现的。情报官员担心网络攻击者会通过互联网控制电力设施一座核电站或金融网络。这位高级情报官员说，调查部门发现了留下来的软件工具，这些软件可用于破坏基础设施的子系统。他还说，如果我们和他们发生战争，他们将会试图启动这些软件。官员们说，供排水等基础设施系统也有危险。美国国家情报部门主管布莱尔(Dennis Blair)最近对国会议员表示，在过去的几年中，我们看到外国发生的针对重要基础设施的网络攻击，我们自己的很多基础设施和那些一样有危险。许多国家都能干扰美国信息基础设施的组成要素，包括俄罗斯和中国。官员们说，尚不清楚网络间谍们的动机，他们认为眼下不会有危险。举例来说，中国没有破坏美国经济的动机，因为中国依赖美国消费者，并持有美国国债。不过，保护电网和其他基础设施安全是奥巴马政府网络安全评估的重要部分，这一评估将于下周完成。据知情人士透露，在布什总统任期内，美国国会批准了170亿美元的秘密资金用以保护政府网络。奥巴马政府正在权衡是否扩大这一计划，以填补私人电脑网络的薄弱之处，这可能还需要耗资数十亿美元。五角大楼一位高级官员周二表示，过去六个月五角大楼已经花费了1亿美元用于修补网络损坏。美国电网包括三个单独的电网，分别覆盖东部西部以及得克萨斯州。每个电网都包括了数千英里长的输电线路发电厂以及变电站。电力传输是由当地公用事业公司或地区输电机构控制的。政府报告显示，公用事业公司日益依赖于网络通信，这加大了间谍和黑客入侵控制系统的可能性。情报官员和网络安全专家称，此次网络间谍能够大举入侵美国多个网络──不仅包括电网，还包括其他重要基础设施系统──暗示中国和俄罗斯是主要嫌疑方。这些官员们表示，恐怖主义组织或许有能力渗透美国基础设施，但他们似乎尚未做好攻击准备。由于很难在网络空间中追踪真实身份，因此几乎不太可能查清网络攻击是否得到了政府的支持。美国官员说，调查人员已经循着被盗数据的电子轨迹查到了中国和俄罗斯。俄罗斯和中国官员均对此予以否认。俄罗斯大使馆发言人科里斯科(Yevgeniy Khorishko)说，这纯属捕风捉影。俄罗斯和网络间谍攻击美国基础设施或是全球任何其他国家的任何基础设施都没有关系。中国驻华盛顿大使馆发言人王宝东说，中国政府坚决反对任何犯罪，包括摧毁互联网或电脑网络的黑客攻击，并制定了法律禁止此类行为。他说，中国准备与其他国家合作应对此类攻击，一些遗留冷战思维的外国人士沉迷于捏造所谓中国网络间谍的谣言。公用事业公司不愿公开讨论所面临的危险。PJM Interconnection LLC发言人多特(Ray Dotter)说，我们不能透露已经采取的诸多措施。这家公司协调着美国13个州和华盛顿特区的批发电力。他说，公司已经按照联邦标准加强了安保。Siobhan Gorman（更新完成）相关阅读朝鲜威胁将击落侵入领空的美国间谍飞机－国家电台 2009-04-01反间谍软件不可少 2008-10-02
Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.'The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid,' said a senior intelligence official. 'So have the Russians.'The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn't target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. 'There are intrusions, and they are growing,' the former official said, referring to electrical systems. 'There were a lot last year.'Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet.Authorities investigating the intrusions have found software tools left behind that could be used to destroy infrastructure components, the senior intelligence official said. He added, 'If we go to war with them, they will try to turn them on.'Officials said water, sewage and other infrastructure systems also were at risk.'Over the past several years, we have seen cyberattacks against critical infrastructures abroad, and many of our own infrastructures are as vulnerable as their foreign counterparts, ' Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair recently told lawmakers. 'A number of nations, including Russia and China, can disrupt elements of the U.S. information infrastructure.'Officials cautioned that the motivation of the cyberspies wasn't well understood, and they don't see an immediate danger. China, for example, has little incentive to disrupt the U.S. economy because it relies on American consumers and holds U.S. government debt.But protecting the electrical grid and other infrastructure is a key part of the Obama administration's cybersecurity review, which is to be completed next week. Under the Bush administration, Congress approved $17 billion in secret funds to protect government networks, according to people familiar with the budget. The Obama administration is weighing whether to expand the program to address vulnerabilities in private computer networks, which would cost billions of dollars more. A senior Pentagon official said Tuesday the Pentagon has spent $100 million in the past six months repairing cyber damage.The U.S. electrical grid comprises three separate electric networks, covering the East, the West and Texas. Each includes many thousands of miles of transmission lines, power plants and substations. The flow of power is controlled by local utilities or regional transmission organizations. The growing reliance of utilities on Internet-based communication has increased the vulnerability of control systems to spies and hackers, according to government reports.The sophistication of the U.S. intrusions -- which extend beyond electric to other key infrastructure systems -- suggests that China and Russia are mainly responsible, according to intelligence officials and cybersecurity specialists. While terrorist groups could develop the ability to penetrate U.S. infrastructure, they don't appear to have yet mounted attacks, these officials say.It is nearly impossible to know whether or not an attack is government-sponsored because of the difficulty in tracking true identities in cyberspace. U.S. officials said investigators have followed electronic trails of stolen data to China and Russia.Russian and Chinese officials have denied any wrongdoing. 'These are pure speculations,' said Yevgeniy Khorishko, a spokesman at the Russian Embassy. 'Russia has nothing to do with the cyberattacks on the U.S. infrastructure, or on any infrastructure in any other country in the world.'A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Wang Baodong, said the Chinese government 'resolutely oppose[s] any crime, including hacking, that destroys the Internet or computer network' and has laws barring the practice. China was ready to cooperate with other countries to counter such attacks, he said, and added that 'some people overseas with Cold War mentality are indulged in fabricating the sheer lies of the so-called cyberspies in China.'Utilities are reluctant to speak about the dangers. 'Much of what we've done, we can't talk about,' said Ray Dotter, a spokesman at PJM Interconnection LLC, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in 13 states and the District of Columbia. He said the organization has beefed up its security, in conformance with federal standards.Siobhan Gorman
Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.'The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid,' said a senior intelligence official. 'So have the Russians.'The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn't target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. 'There are intrusions, and they are growing,' the former official said, referring to electrical systems. 'There were a lot last year.'Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet.Authorities investigating the intrusions have found software tools left behind that could be used to destroy infrastructure components, the senior intelligence official said. He added, 'If we go to war with them, they will try to turn them on.'Officials said water, sewage and other infrastructure systems also were at risk.'Over the past several years, we have seen cyberattacks against critical infrastructures abroad, and many of our own infrastructures are as vulnerable as their foreign counterparts, ' Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair recently told lawmakers. 'A number of nations, including Russia and China, can disrupt elements of the U.S. information infrastructure.'Officials cautioned that the motivation of the cyberspies wasn't well understood, and they don't see an immediate danger. China, for example, has little incentive to disrupt the U.S. economy because it relies on American consumers and holds U.S. government debt.But protecting the electrical grid and other infrastructure is a key part of the Obama administration's cybersecurity review, which is to be completed next week. Under the Bush administration, Congress approved $17 billion in secret funds to protect government networks, according to people familiar with the budget. The Obama administration is weighing whether to expand the program to address vulnerabilities in private computer networks, which would cost billions of dollars more. A senior Pentagon official said Tuesday the Pentagon has spent $100 million in the past six months repairing cyber damage.The U.S. electrical grid comprises three separate electric networks, covering the East, the West and Texas. Each includes many thousands of miles of transmission lines, power plants and substations. The flow of power is controlled by local utilities or regional transmission organizations. The growing reliance of utilities on Internet-based communication has increased the vulnerability of control systems to spies and hackers, according to government reports.The sophistication of the U.S. intrusions -- which extend beyond electric to other key infrastructure systems -- suggests that China and Russia are mainly responsible, according to intelligence officials and cybersecurity specialists. While terrorist groups could develop the ability to penetrate U.S. infrastructure, they don't appear to have yet mounted attacks, these officials say.It is nearly impossible to know whether or not an attack is government-sponsored because of the difficulty in tracking true identities in cyberspace. U.S. officials said investigators have followed electronic trails of stolen data to China and Russia.Russian and Chinese officials have denied any wrongdoing. 'These are pure speculations,' said Yevgeniy Khorishko, a spokesman at the Russian Embassy. 'Russia has nothing to do with the cyberattacks on the U.S. infrastructure, or on any infrastructure in any other country in the world.'A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Wang Baodong, said the Chinese government 'resolutely oppose[s] any crime, including hacking, that destroys the Internet or computer network' and has laws barring the practice. China was ready to cooperate with other countries to counter such attacks, he said, and added that 'some people overseas with Cold War mentality are indulged in fabricating the sheer lies of the so-called cyberspies in China.'Utilities are reluctant to speak about the dangers. 'Much of what we've done, we can't talk about,' said Ray Dotter, a spokesman at PJM Interconnection LLC, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in 13 states and the District of Columbia. He said the organization has beefed up its security, in conformance with federal standards.Siobhan Gorman