Electric Grid Vulnerable to Hackers

The speculation that the Microsoft RPC flaw may have been responsible for the Great Blackout of 2003, combined with the revelation that a United States nuclear power facility had its safety systems disabled by a worm in January of 2003 have led to calls for an overhaul of the computer and network security surrounding the electric and power systems. There are many government and power company officials who insist that the entire power grid needs to be overhauled to handle the load being put on it. Add to that the distinct possibility that the power grid is susceptible to viruses and worms and the urgency is even more amplified. To read more about this issue see this article on NewScientist.com: Electricity grids left wide open to hackers.