BLUF: Blackout Blues

Earlier this week, a wave of blackouts plunged tens of millions of people across Spain and Portugal into total darkness. One of Europe’s worst power outages in decades apparently didn’t warrant much of an explanation from those nation’s leaders…The event is a stark reminder of the importance of critical infrastructure on the function and wellbeing of our modern living.  Much of the United States electricity infrastructure was built in the 1960s and 1970s - which (while not to offend our more experienced readers) means they’re pretty damned dated. 

The power grid has rightly received increased scrutiny in recent years, as events such as extreme weather, natural disasters, and expensive one-off modernization have exacerbated and highlighted an already pervasive issue. But while some work has been done, the U.S. power grid’s vast interconnected nature continues to ensure that it remains a prime target for attacks and sabotage. 

A quick explainer: The grid operates on three networks, an eastern link, a western link, and an independent Texas network. The disruption of only one of these complex networks would have a profound, widespread impact on a variety of key industries, including economic and security chaos. 

So while hostilities between the U.S. and China continue to escalate, the threat of a major cyber attack on the U.S. power grid from China could become more and more realistic. In fact, this past December, Beijing even acknowledged its role in recent cyber attacks on civilian networks and other U.S. core infrastructure.

A reexamining of U.S. cybersecurity measures and procedures, as well as continued investment in and modernization of existing power grid infrastructure, is imperative to increase U.S. resiliency and keep Chinese hackers (or any other adversary) at bay. 

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