Oncor says its grid is well protected from hackers

Oncor says its grid is well protected from hackers

Apr 10 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Jack Z. Smith Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Oncor, the electric transmission and distribution system that serves 7 million North Texans, offered assurances Thursday that it is well protected from cyberhackers.

Oncor was responding to news inquiries after reports by The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press of spies hacking into the U.S. electric grid and leaving behind computer programs potentially capable of bringing about catastrophic disruptions of service.

The intrusions were discovered after electric companies gave the government permission to audit their systems, the AP reported, citing a former U.S. government official who requested anonymity.

Catherine Cuellar, a spokeswoman for Oncor, told the Star-Telegram that "security has been our top priority since long before there was an Internet."

She noted that most of Texas "is not part of the national grid" overseen by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), but instead has its own separate grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

"Within ERCOT, we have security standards that not only meet but go above and beyond the most recent NERC requirements," Cuellar said. "We ... are constantly improving our standards to stay ahead of hackers. If any risk is discovered, we aggressively implement new systems and new security measures.

On Thursday, NERC acknowledged that "cyber security is an area of concern for the electric grid" but added that "we are not aware of any reports of cyber attacks that have directly impacted reliability of the power system in North America to date."

NERC said, however, that there is "definitely more to be done" in terms of taking steps to "improve preparedness and response to potential cyber threats."

The AP reported that government inspections of the grid were triggered by concerns over a 2007 video from the Idaho National Laboratory, which had staged a demonstration of the damage hackers could do if they seized control of a crucial part of the system. The video showed a power turbine spinning out of control until it became a smoking hulk and shut down.

The former official said the sophistication needed to hack into the grid is so high that it is "almost without a doubt" done by state sponsors.

The Journal story said the cyberspies who penetrated the grid "came from China, Russia and other countries," according to current and former national security officials.

Chinese and Russian officials denied trying to hack into U.S. systems, the AP reported.