According to Tom Donahue, a CIA official, hackers have recently
infiltrated various power grids outside the US, and in at least one
instance, caused a power outage in multiple cities.

According
to Tom Donahue, a CIA official, hackers have recently infiltrated
various power grids outside the US, and in at least one instance,
caused a power outage in multiple cities. We don’t know much else: the
when, where, how and who were all left for guessing only. But we know
that the attacks were done remotely (through the internet) and that
current Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems (that,
as we understand it, represent many of the world’s infrastructural
networks, software and databases) are sadly out of date.

At
the hacking convention DefCon, security firm Tipping Point gave a
presentation outlining various SCADA vulnerabilities, and others in the
know are claiming that these vulnerabilities are leading to major
electronic extortion of utility companies, to the tune of hundreds of
millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, the CIA is questioning whether or not SCADA is the vulnerability in question.

I’m just hoping that said hackers live next door to me, and that therefore my power is safe and sound.

Via Forbes