Hackers Could Crash The Internet, Power Grid?

from the say-what-now? dept

It was just last week that we were complaining about journalists overhyping the threats to the internet, and now this story comes along with an incredily FUD-filled lead that is never actually backed up in the article. The article starts out by saying that hackers could shut down the internet and our electric power grid if they wanted to, based on some theories of how networks work. The idea that certain nodes on a network are more important than others is nothing new - but that doesn't explain how the internet gets shut down or (even more unlikely) how a "hacker" would shut down a power grid. The research itself, does seem to suggest some useful things about how certain nodes should be even more carefully protected from such attacks, so I have nothing against the research itself. I'm just taking issue with the reporter for making it sound like a bunch of script kiddies are going to turn off all the lights.

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  1.  

    Easier way to crash the power grid

    identicon
    dorpus, Feb 6th, 2003 @ 1:15pm

    A few years ago, a kite retailer in San Francisco was selling kites with mylar-aluminum tails. The kites had a tendency to tangle up in power lines and cause short circuits (explode in blue flames too!), so PG&E confronted the kite shop and made them stop selling it. (There was no danger to the kite flyer as long as the kite line was dry.)

    Power grids do have "choke points" which pass a lot of current to a large area. During the CA power crisis, there was concern that the choke points could burn out from having too much imported electricity pass through them. So yeah, a coordinated mylar-kite attack on choke points could take out a power system.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Well...

    identicon
    hacking made easy, Feb 6th, 2003 @ 3:44pm

    Maybe the US Department of energy uses a web interface to control the power grid, and passes values on the url line.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  

    Slammer effected SBC

    identicon
    Gene Hoffman, Feb 6th, 2003 @ 8:31pm

    I was unlucky enough to have an appointment with an SBC phone line repair guy on the Saturday morning that slammer hit. It didn't take down the phone service, but it took down their ability to diagnose or fix it. See: http://www.hoffmang.com/archives/000179.html#000179

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  4.  

    Re: Well...

    identicon
    LittleW0lf, Feb 6th, 2003 @ 8:33pm

    Maybe the US Department of energy uses a web interface to control the power grid, and passes values on the url line.

    I think they also have a section on their website which allows you to set up your own power station to bilk customers, stock holders, and the California government. Word has it that AONN is also starting a power station as we speak.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  

    AONN Talks Back -- AONN Cleared by the Government

    identicon
    Just a regular guy, Dec 23rd, 2004 @ 2:25am

    Scroll down in the Chemtrail article and forum to see where AONN fights back and tells it how it is. It was just an experiment much like Eligible Receiver and many other such clandestine projects. AONN is nowhere close to evil and the government has cleared AONN DSI of any wrongdoing. Evidently AONN DSI had authorization to be doing what it was doing.

    http://www.chemtrailcentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=77024

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  

    AONN Talks Back -- Cleared of Any Wrongdoing -- AO

    identicon
    No One Special, Dec 23rd, 2004 @ 2:27am

    Scroll down in the Chemtrail article and forum to see where AONN fights back and tells it how it is. It was just an experiment much like Eligible Receiver and many other such clandestine projects. AONN is nowhere close to evil and the government has cleared AONN DSI of any wrongdoing. Evidently AONN DSI had authorization to be doing what it was doing.


    http://www.chemtrailcentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=77024

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  

    hackers crashing the Internet

    identicon
    Timothy A. Ruane, Feb 25th, 2008 @ 12:24am

    The concept is there, so the possibility is there. One can be certain that al Qaeda is workin' on it, pshaw.

    reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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