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DHS: 40 percent of cyberattacks targeted energy sector
The energy sector was the target of more than 40 percent of all reported cyberattacks on critical infrastructure networks last year, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Malicious attacks on oil-and-gas pipelines and electric utilities occurred at an “alarming rate,” DHS’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team warns in a recent report.
The report, which is likely to heighten concerns about the security of the nation’s infrastructure, comes as President Obama is set to roll out an executive order on cybersecurity. That directive could be released as soon as this month.
The document would likely craft incentives to entice critical infrastructure operators — such as the electric grid — to join a voluntary cybersecurity standards program.
Republicans had opposed standards for critical infrastructure networks, fearing even voluntary rules would eventually turn into new regulations. But Democrats and Obama have said such networks are too vital to ignore.
Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has warned that the national power system is vulnerable to cyber attacks.
As the nation’s top electric grid regulator, Wellinghoff has consistently called for a federal agency to be given more authority to protect the electric grid. He has said no entity currently has legal permission to intervene to defend the nation's power grid against cyberattacks.
