CIA: Cyberattack caused multiple-city blackout

CIA: Cyberattack caused multiple-city blackout

By Tom Espiner, ZDNet (UK)

A cyberattack has caused a power blackout in multiple cities outside the United States, the CIA has warned.

The SANS Institute, a computer-security training body, reported the CIA's disclosure on Friday. CIA senior analyst Tom Donahue told a SANS Institute conference on Wednesday in New Orleans that the CIA had evidence of successful cyberattacks against critical national infrastructures outside the United States.

"We have information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment in several regions outside the U.S.," Donahue said. "In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities."

Donahue added that the CIA does not know who executed the attacks or why but that all of the attacks involved "intrusions through the Internet."

The CIA analyst added that his agency had evidence of blackmail demands following demonstrations of successful intrusions.

"We have information, from multiple regions outside the U.S., of cyberintrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands," Donahue said. "We suspect, but cannot confirm, that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge."

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http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6227090.html

or disinformation from the cia. I think maybe on boingboing. I'll try and find more info.

...but there is a lack of specificity. Be good to know more about it...

Someone posted this on The Register:

wasn't boingboing like I thought. Did notice that they didn't actually say *which* cities though.

Maybe too much.

Perhaps Mr. Donahue and friends have seen the film and figured, what the hell is seems
plausible enough.