Reuters: Technology News: Some U.S. power companies say they face constant cyber attacks

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Some U.S. power companies say they face constant cyber attacks May 21st 2013, 17:15 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Cyber attacks against banks more severe than most realize Sat, May 18 2013 FBI says more cooperation with banks key to probe of cyber attacks Mon, May 13 2013 Top U.S. admiral puts cyber security on the Navy's radar Mon, May 13 2013 Special Report: U.S. cyberwar strategy stokes fear of blowback Fri, May 10 2013 Huge cyber bank theft spans 27 countries Thu, May 9 2013 Analysis & Opinion Washington-gate Q&A with cyber crime expert Tim Francis The word 'password' is pictured on a computer screen in this picture illustration taken in Berlin May 21, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski BOSTON | Tue May 21, 2013 1:15pm EDT BOSTON (Reuters) - Several U.S. power utilities say they face constant cyber attacks on critical systems, according to a report by two Democratic lawmakers amid warnings from the Obama administration that foreign hackers are seeking to attack the electric grid. Congressmen Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Henry Waxman of California disclosed their findings on Tuesday as the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on cybersecurity. In preparing the report the two asked some 160 utilities to describe their experiences fighting cyber attacks over the past five years. More than a dozen utilities said they experienced daily, constant or frequent attempted cyber attacks, according to a 35-page report summarizing their responses. The report cited an unidentified Northeastern power provider as saying it was under constant attack from cyber criminals as well as activist groups who have been targeting firms in the energy sector over the past few years. A power provider from the Midwest said it experienced daily probes of its systems: "Much of this activity is automated and dynamic in nature, able to adapt to what is discovered during its probing process," the company said. The U.S. public has become more aware of cyber threats against the grid and other critical infrastructure since late last year, when senior Obama Administration officials began warning that foreign enemies are looking to sabotage the U.S. power grid, air traffic control systems, financial institutions and other infrastructure. Senior administration officials say they do not know of any successful destructive attack on the grid or other key infrastructure, but fear that hackers may have the ability to do so. A bipartisan cybersecurity bill to protect the electric grid, introduced in 2010 by Markey and Waxman, passed the House of Representatives but not the Senate. The legislation has not been taken up again since then. (Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Phil Berlowitz) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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