president obama threaten act retaliation russia hack unite state election become evident hack even big accord report washington post vermont electric utility also hacked.while russians actively use code disrupt operations accord officials speak condition anonymity discuss security matter discovery underline vulnerabilities nation electrical grid officials government utility industry regularly monitor grid highly computerize disruptions disastrous implications country medical emergency services.no one sure point russians hack small utility possible show us could also test similar way credit card thieve start small charge test card.this also far character russia early 2016 russia allegedly hack power grid ukraine.the hackers strike power center ukraine first confirm hack take power grid opportunists happen upon network launch attack test abilities accord new detail extensive investigation hack skilled stealthy strategists carefully plan assault many months first reconnaissance study network siphon operator credentials launch synchronize assault well-choreographed dance brilliant say robert m. lee assist investigation lee former cyber warfare operations officer us air force co-founder dragos security critical infrastructure security company term sophistication people always focus malware use attack say make sophistication logistics plan operations go length highly sophisticate source wiredwhile lee say sure russia ukraine convince nonetheless lee say well-funded operation could nation-state.as wire note electrical infrastructure ukraine secure overall unite state beyond many electrical grids backup mean could hours days even long get power back.even frighten entire nation could without power indefinitely nine 55,000 substations hit terrorists hackers.a coordinate attack nine unite state 55,000 electric-transmission substations right day could cause blackout los angeles new york city accord study conduct federal energy regulatory commission study result know months select people federal agencies congress white house report publicly first time wednesday wsj publish list 30 critical substations identify ferc study.one particularly trouble memo review journal describe scenario highly-coordinated relatively small scale attack could send country long-term literal dark age destroy nine interconnection substations transformer manufacturer entire unite state grid would least 18 months probably long memo said.source timeone donald trump campaign promise improve infrastructure obama try time office congress block still even trump get infrastructure bill sign relationship russia trouble loyalty unite state indebted enough russia leave doors open attack us vulnerable disconcert question say least hack election along trump praise putin big cking deal.update washington post issue correction utility hack vermont utility correct grid early version story incorrectly say russian hackers penetrate u.s. electric grid authorities say indication far computer burlington electric hack attach grid editor note attach original article said.featured image via pool/getty image russia hack big think electrical grid threaten