Ottawa urged to fight with the grid hackers-Vancouver Sun

Computer hackers are infiltrating the distribution in Canada, say insiders, industry, who want the Federal Government to act.

"Of course we know from our customers that have been infiltrated their systems. It already for some time, "said Doug Westlund, President of N-dimension solutions, company, Richmond Hill, Ontario, computer security, which works with national instruments.

"You don't even know who they are, but are close to home."

Westlund, whose company is part of a research project sponsored by the United States Department of energy to protect the emerging digital "smart grid" against cyber attacks, compared to the penetration and exploration of the American intelligence system incidents in 2009.

You also allegedly embedded software cyberspies in tools for computer, which would disrupt future services. Officials speculate, Russia or China was responsible.

Westlund said that Canadian intrusion think that was the transition to the systems and their controls to embed malicious codes.

Francis Bradley, a Canadian Electric Association, said that "sometimes, we see potential attacks" against portions of the grid.

"Intrusion detection Systems on the company to pick up some of the people effectively ping servers. We haven't seen the loss of energy to customers as a result of the cyber-attack. "

Security jitters about North American power system interconnected deepens as the industry evolves from largely isolated systems electromechanical world into the grid, built around the interoperable, wireless digital technology. The objective is to optimize the production, transmission and distribution.

The most disturbing change includes tens of millions of wireless "smart meters" installed in homes and businesses for faster and more effective two-way communication with the local Utility, which subsequently combine operators of transmission and generators.

"There will be greater and greater potential for cyber attack, because there are potentially multiple vectors of attack," said Bradley. "It is real. I see that the types of resources that companies are putting into it and they even devoting a number of resources that are on IT security on an ongoing basis, if it is not real. Their answer is proportional to the threat and the response is significant. "

But understanding the shrill claims that smart grid is dangerously insecure.

Capture of critical infrastructure is going on in tandem with the militarization of all on the Web-and Governments are responding.

The US said its digital infrastructure a strategic asset and computer security a priority of national security. Britain has computer security a matter of the highest in its national security strategy.

Canada last fall revealed the national cyber security strategy, which is similar to the more political than the framework action plan, with which many for a measly $ 90 million in the five years of funding.

Bradley, who in the past criticized the Federal inaction, but now it seems that her Government confirmed.

"For the first time in many years, at least on IT security, I'm very positive steps the Federal Government, it seen." He refused to elaborate.

The news came out this week that security chiefs in Britain have signed up, Prime Minister David Cameron's press company responsible for the critical national infrastructure, including the National Grid, the Government agency electronic spy watch for hackers on their systems.

Unlike water or gas electricity cannot be stored in large quantities; must be generated and then immediately use. It is in the world of extreme just-in-time commodities.

This means, for the production and the transfer operation must be monitored and controlled by doling out millions of wireless devices across the continent to the Internet, potentially all the time, still exposing system able to hackers and other cyber attacks.

It is the arrival of smart meters, which potentially opens up a huge new front "ways of attack" that could allow sophisticated intruders access to the system-for anything from attacks denial-of-service and identity theft, stealth attacks on power stations.

Most models of smart meters now have at least basic security functions, although the instrument-sponsored tests in the us are still successfully hacked into some.

"The general consensus among colleagues and most of us in the security business, the technology of intelligent meter out of security technologies," said Mark Weatherford, Chief Security Officer for Washingtonbased North American Electric Reliability Corporation. NERC enforces reliability standards for North America, a huge and interconnected bulk power system of generators, transmission lines and control systems.

Although the smart meters are next to the distribution grid, Weatherford fears could manipulate to distort the balance of the generation and transmission.

For example, the hacker can exploit some of the common errors in metres, serves the city could potentially turn off 100 000 or more meters, or "flip" the power on and off, causing the electrical load back through the system, tripping breakers "ripples", throwing power plants offline and, where appropriate, frying equipment.

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