[ NNSquad ] Hackers in the electric grid? Meh-fear the dude with the stolen tractor

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Hackers in the electric grid? Meh-fear the dude with the stolen tractor

http://j.mp/1cvMg8o  (Ars Technica)

   "Cyber security pundits and contractors can't seem to make it through a
    presentation without invoking the specter of hackers shutting down the
    US electric grid. That's certainly something to be concerned about,
    especially if we end up at war with a country like China, but at the
    moment actual incidents are hard to come by. Indeed, serious electric
    grid vandalism remains comfortably old school-like climbing a 100-foot
    high-voltage transmission tower and chopping through the cables with a
    saw, then removing a few bolts from the bottom of the metal tower,
    then attaching a half-inch thick cable to the tower with a 15 inch
    eyebolt, and then pulling the cable across the adjacent Union Pacific
    railroad track "in an apparent attempt to utilize a moving train to
    bring down the tower." You know, old school."

 - - -
 
Like I've been saying all along. One guy with a bit of dynamite (or a
tractor!) is much more likely to wreak havoc than the
cyberscare-industrial complex's bogeymen.  But invoking the latter is
where the big bucks are, of course!

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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