Threats to Electric Grid Security

We have five major threats that make our grid extremely

vulnerable that we've presented to congressional officials.

One being cyber, two being hackers, three being

physical threats, fourth one is solar EMP, and the fifth

one is manmade EMP. So the concern that we have is that we put out

this critical information, and when we go over this risk analysis,

they hear what we're saying, but, but they don't wanna take action.

Take action.

Well, there are 18 critical infrastructures in

the United States, food,

water, uh, transportation, communications, et cetera.

All 17 of the others depend on electricity.

If our grid goes down, you can't cook, you're not gonna

heat anything, you can't run any of your medical

supplies, you can't

talk on your phone, you can't take money out of a bank, and we

turn into total chaos.

If this happens, the system stops. Stops.

If a transformer is taken down, we have to order it from

Germany or China. It's gonna take a year.

Up 'til recently, there were no comprehensive protective

solutions available.

We know what the solutions are. They're not expensive.

They're not difficult to employ. We just need the political

will to do it, and the follow-through on the part of the

electric utilities

to get it done.

The White House is protected from an EMP.

Uh, the Congress and, and the CIA and the NSA, all of the areas that need

to function in the government are protected,

so why can't we be protected?

Around some of these facilities, you don't have much more than a chain link

fence

to keep people out. Now, that seems absurd to me.

I think it is absurd when we now know that attack on

as few as nine grid substations could bring

down all three major interconnections for the United States grid.

If the power goes out, you get the generator, and if

that goes out, you get another

one. There's never been a plan for what happens

after that.

The director of the National Security Agency, uh, Admiral Rogers, came

out and said, "It's not a matter of if,

it's a matter of when."