Sec Napolitano warns of cyberattack on utilities

A debilitating cyberattack on power plants or water systems could produce the same sort of rampant outages and widespread disruptions caused by Hurricane Sandy, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned.

“If you think a control-system attack that takes down a utility even for a few hours is not serious, just look at what is happening now that Mother Nature has taken out those utilities,” Sec Napolitano said at a Washington Post cybersecurity event, noting the effects in some cases can be “life threatening.” Her remarks are only the latest example of the administration’s efforts to highlight the country’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities. In doing so, federal leaders have emphasized the need to boost the digital defenses of the nation’s critical infrastructure while facilitating the exchange of information between government and the private sector.