CIA Discloses Some Blackouts Were Hacks

As a security conference in New Orleans, CIA senior analyst Tom Donahue revealed that "We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands. We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge. We have information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the United States. In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet." No indications were made that blackouts in recent years throughout the United States had anything to do with hackers. Just because a system can be connected to the Internet certainly doesn't mean that it should be connected to the Internet.