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Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid through a utility in Vermont, U.S. officials say


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Nothing to worry about here.....

 

Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid through a utility in Vermont, U.S. officials say

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-hackers-penetrated-us-electricity-grid-through-a-utility-in-vermont/2016/12/30/8fc90cc4-ceec-11e6-b8a2-8c2a61b0436f_story.html

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A code associated with Russian hacking has been detected in a Vermont utility system, the Washington Post is reporting.

Burlington Electric Director of Customer Care, Community Engagement and Communications Mike Kanarick says a Burlington Electric Department laptop detected the malware after a scan.

The laptop was not connected to the organization’s grid systems, he says.

According to Kanarick, the scan took place after U.S. utilities were alerted by the Department of Homeland Security of a malware code used by Grizzly Steppe, a known Russian hacking operation.

“We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding. Our team is working with federal officials to trace this malware and prevent any other attempts to infiltrate utility systems. We have briefed state officials and will support the investigation fully,” said Kanarick in a statement.

According to a report by the Washington Post, Russians did not use the code to disrupt operations though the penetration of the nation’s electrical grid is significant.

A spokesperson for Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger says his office does not wish to comment at this time. The Mayor is still in China with his family.

The spokesperson did not know if the Mayor has been notified.

http://www.mychamplainvalley.com/news/russian-malware-code-found-on-burlington-electric-laptop/634022476

Edited by ckf
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So right after being accused of hacking our election and half the country (the dull part) thinking Russia is out to get us, they decide to use a previously known malware to hack a piece of infrastructure? That sounds convenient for the narrative... This stinks bad. 

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1 minute ago, Stephen Hawking said:

I was starting to get worried that mc wouldn't get a gloom and doom thread started today. 

Whew.... That was close. :lol:

Another case where the media over hyped a story. BFD a laptop that wasn't even connected to the grid had malware on it. He's another local story on it. https://vtdigger.org/2016/12/30/russians-penetrated-computer-burlington-electric-dept/

 

Quote

 

Russians penetrated computer at Burlington Electric Dept.

Russian hackers penetrated a computer at the Burlington Electric Department that is not connected to the electrical grid, officials say.

Burlington Electric found out about the malware when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security notified them about a hacking campaign called Grizzly Steppe.

The utility scanned all of its computers Thursday night and found the malware on a laptop computer not connected to the electric grid.

“We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding,” the Burlington Electric Department said in a statement. “Our team is working with federal officials to trace this malware and prevent any other attempts to infiltrate utility systems. We have briefed state officials and will support the investigation fully.”

The Washington Post first reported the security breach and said it “underlines the vulnerabilities of the nation’s electrical grid.” But both the city’s utility and state officials say the grid was not affected.

The malware was not actively used by the Russians to disrupt the grid, according to the Post. It is not clear how long the malware was on the BED computer before it was discovered.

“Burlington Electric did a good job of identifying it, finding it, and notifying appropriate officials, which is what prompted the Washington Post story,” said Chris Recchia, the commissioner of the Public Service Department. “The fact that this is at a utility obviously gives us heightened concern.”

Vermont’s utilities connect to the New England electric grid run by ISO New England. Recchia said, because this involves a foreign government and because the grid is interconnected, officials have been in touch with emergency management personnel from the state, regional, and federal levels.

“I think it’s really important for people to recognize that this was probably a good test of our current system in the sense that unrelated to grid operations, a laptop was still found and reported,” Recchia said.

“This is the world we live in now, and we are working with all our partners, state, federal, and regional to make sure we stay ahead of this. It’s not going to be a surprise to people that the grid itself is somewhat computer-operated and is just like any other computerized system, vulnerable to these type of attacks, and we need to stay ahead of it,” he added.

Russian hackers involved in previous attacks used fraudulent emails to obtain passwords to trick recipients to give up passwords, the Post reports.

Green Mountain Power and Vermont Electric Co-op also participated in the Department of Homeland Security’s rigorous “risk vulnerability assessment” and found no threat to electric grid systems.

 

 

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10 minutes ago, ckf said:

I'm already paying $.18/ kWh. That seems expensive enough to me. What is everyone else paying?

Had to look mine up.  Beats the shit outa me.  My bill looks like number code.  Peak, off-peak, demand, sub tax, intergallactic transfer fees....etc.  But...I paid $129 for 813KW last month...all add-ons, shoes, coat, spaceship and taxes and shit included.  It does look like if I don't use any power at all it is .053 a kWh.  I mean  WTF?

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Here's the detailed breakdown of the rates from the chart above:

Manitoba 
Basic monthly Charge, $7.57
Energy Charge: 7.672¢/kWhx1000, $76.72
$7.57 + $73.81
Total $81.38 for 1000 KwH

British Columbia 
Basic monthly charge, 0.1835 per day ($5.50 monthly)
Energy Charge: 0.0829¢/kWhx675=$55.96, 0.1243¢/kWhx325=$40.40
$55.96+$40.40=$96.35 
Rate Rider 5% Rate Rider applied to all charges before taxes and levies
5.50+96.35= 101.85 + $4.82 (rate rider) 
Total $106.67 for 1000 KwH

Saskatchewan 

Basic Monthly Charge $29.19               
Energy Charge: 12.624¢/KwHx1000, $126.24  
$29.19 + $126.24  
Total $155.43 for 1000 KwH

Hydro one
Energy Charge: 18¢/kWhx200 peak $36, 13.2¢/kWhx200 mid $26.4, 8.7¢/kWhx600 low $52.20 
Line loss charge +$11.19
Basic Monthly Charge + $24.07
Regulatory charge + $6.71
Delivery charge ($30.88 service charge +distribution volume charge $29.80+ transmission connection charge $4.80 +transmission network charge $6.80+ Smart Meter Charge $10.38=$82.66
36+26.4+52.2+11.19+24.07+6.71+82.66
Total  $239.23 for 1000 KwH 

Quebec
Basic Monthly Charge, $12.19  
Energy Charge: 5.71¢/KwHx900=$51.39, 8.68¢/kWhx300=$26.04
51.39+26.04+12.19
Total  $89.62 for 1000 KwH

New Brunswick

Basic Monthly Charge, $22.79
Energy Charge: 10.41¢/KwHx1000, 104.20
104.20 + 22.79
Total $126.99 for 1000 KwH

Nova Scotia

TOU billing
Basic Monthly Charge, $18.82
Energy Charge: break down 20 peak/20 mid/60 low
Peak=19.158¢/kWh Medium=14.800¢/kWh low=7.873¢/kWh
peak =38.31 medium=29.60 low=47.24
38.31+29.60+47.24+18.82=133.97
Total  $133.97 for 1000 KwH

Newfoundland

Basic charge, $15.70
Energy Charge: 10.573¢/KwHx1000, $105.73
15.70+105.73
Total $121.43 for 1000 KwH

PEI
Basic Monthly Charge, $26.92
Energy Rate Charge=13.56¢/KwHx1000, $135.60
$26.92+$135.60
Total $162.52 for 1000 K

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3 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

Had to look mine up.  Beats the shit outa me.  My bill looks like number code.  Peak, off-peak, demand, sub tax, intergallactic transfer fees....etc.  But...I paid $129 for 813KW last month...all add-ons, shoes, coat, spaceship and taxes and shit included.  It does look like if I don't use any power at all it is .053 a kWh.  I mean  WTF?

With all taxes and fees mine was $135 for 655 kWh last month.

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2 minutes ago, ckf said:

With all taxes and fees mine was $135 for 655 kWh last month.

Interesting.  That's really what matters...what is the total we are all paying after the "fuck you" fees.  Looks like yours is a bit more $$$ compared to MN.

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2 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

Interesting.  That's really what matters...what is the total we are all paying after the "fuck you" fees.  Looks like yours is a bit more $$$ compared to MN.

The that really pisses me off is the Comcast cable / internet bill. If it wasn't for sports I'd drop back to basic cable and stream everything else.

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1 minute ago, ckf said:

The that really pisses me off is the Comcast cable / internet bill. If it wasn't for sports I'd drop back to basic cable and stream everything else.

I'm up to about $200/month on that god damn shit.  It'll drop after Hockey season though.  I drop down to basics but they still own me on wifi shit.

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3 minutes ago, toslow said:

i have not had cable in 20yrs, i get close to 20 HD channels from an antenna 

Just PBS available with an antenna here :sad:

2 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

I'm up to about $200/month on that god damn shit.  It'll drop after Hockey season though.  I drop down to basics but they still own me on wifi shit.

I'm paying around $220 for cable, internet and home phone.

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