WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) The Trump administration needs to reveal its efforts to reduce the vulnerability of the US electrical grid and its power companies to Russian cyberattacks, US Senator Ed Markey wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
"I write to better understand how the Federal government is working to maximize the security of our electric grid and minimize its vulnerabilities to attack," Markey wrote in the letter on Monday.
Markey claimed in the letter, citing a report in the Wall Street Journal on July 23, that Russian hackers had gained access to the control rooms of US electric utilities, putting them in the position of "severely disrupting" the US power flow.
"There is now also concern that Russia may be seeking to automate these types of attacks, which could lead to more pervasive and broader hacking and harm to the electric grid," Markey said.
In an accompanying Twitter message, Markey said he was seeking "answers about Russian cyberattacks and potential cyber-vulnerabilities" from the utilities and agencies that oversee the US electric grid.
