Power grid under threat from foreign adversaries, domestic extremists, warn experts – By Chris Riotta (Defense One) / July 21, 2023
“The most important evolving threat to the electric grid is associated with cybersecurity and physical security,” lawmakers were told on Tuesday
Energy infrastructure experts testified that the U.S. power grid is facing escalating cybersecurity risks and emerging threats from foreign adversaries and domestic extremists.
The latest annual threat assessment out of the U.S. Intelligence community identified Chinese cyber operations against the U.S. homeland as a major national security threat and warns that Beijing is “almost certainly capable of launching cyber attacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure services” nationwide, including the power grid.
Meanwhile, domestic extremists have been charged in recent months with plotting to attack energy facilities and power grids across the country, as part of an apparent effort to promote white supremacist ideologies.
Bruce Walker, former assistant secretary for the Energy Department’s Office of Electricity, told the House Energy & Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations on Tuesday that “the most important evolving threat to the electric grid is associated with cybersecurity and physical security” while calling for further collaboration between the public and private sectors.
