Energy Grid Vulnerable to Hacker Groups, Says DHS and DoESusanne Posel, Contributor Mainstream media is decrying about complex interlocking systems that make up the networks that control our utilities infrastructure. Mayor Mitch Landrieu said the blackout was an unfortunate moment in what has been an otherwise shining Super Bowl week for the city of New Orleans. Entergy, the power corporation in Louisiana released a statement concerning the blackout. They said: Two weeks ago, hackers breached the Department of Energy (DoE) computers tosiphonpersonal information from employees. DoE officials reported the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) who stated that the hackers used sophisticated attacks to steal personally identifiable information digital data, yet could have more sinister plans in the future should access be gained again. The FBI assumes this attack to be the work of Chinese hackers who would want the information to sell on the black market or are conducting surveillance operations for the Chinese government. In 2012, the Washington Post was compromisedby Chinese hackers who used malicious software to infiltrate newsroom network computers. In the European Union (EU), a breachwas successfully made by state-sponsored Chinese hackers which affected the financial markets and was presumed to have a part in the monetary crisis gripping the EU. US intelligence was able to make this summation after infiltrated computers were decoded. Since the incident, avid monitoring has protected databases. SCADA Systems, a corporation that provides industrial automation technology to agencies surveilling the energy grid was targeted for an elaborate hack of their facilities in the US and Spain. In a statement representatives from SCADA said: SCADA is connected through networks to power plants, water-treatment facilities, traffic lights and other critical infrastructure. General Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA) saidin 2012 that the nameless, faceless hacker group Anonymous would take down the entire US electrical grid. Keith warned that the determination of hacker groups to expose institutional corruption should result in ever-increasing security for the US governments digital infrastructure. While Anonymous reacted to Keiths assertions by saying: Ironically, simultaneously, Anonymous launched Operation Global Blackout which was a scheme to bring down the entire Internet on March 31st of last year. Considering that Anonymous continuously creates chaos on the Internet which results in the furtherance of Big Brother controls, Keiths statements would not be fear-mongering. The NSA has begun a comprehensive programto search out our schools into scouting grounds for a team of American grown hacker community. The NSA is focusing on colleges and universities within the US. Four schools have already been singled out as official Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations. The NSA wants an elite team of computer geniuses that are trained in hacking before they obtain their college degree. The students selected to train under this program will not be privy to the impact their work will have on cyber intelligence, military capabilities and law enforcements expansion of spying on Americans. The National Academies (NA) report of 2007 that was declassified as Hurricane Sandy victims were left in the dark, warned of widespread power outages, stated that cyber-attacks, unlike natural disasters, probably could not cause lengthy blackouts. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that hackers posed an increasing risk to electrical utilities because some control systems may be connected to the Internet. The NA report pointed out that cyber-attacks are unlikely to cause extended outages, but if well-coordinated they could magnify the damage of a physical attack. A hacker attack on the power system could deny large regions of the country access to bulk system power for weeks or even months, which would generate turmoil, widespread public fear and an image of helplessness that would play directly into the hands of the terrorists. Last year, the leaked version of Obamas cybersecurity executive orderis a compromise by the administration offered to those concerned about Big Brother controls invading US citizens privacy on the Web. One concession outlined is the sharing of Internet traffic information by the US government and private sector corporations involving critical infrastructure and electrical grid. Social media companies would not be held under the same mandate. The DHS, specifically Secretary Janet Napolitano, will be given the sole power of oversight to reference top-secret intelligence reports only known to her to bases identification of cyberthreats and individual targets. Napolitano conveyed concern about the possibility of attacks on our nations control systems the control systems that operate our utilities, our water plants, our pipelines, our financial institutions. Susanne Posel is the Chief Editor of Occupy Corporatism. Our alternative news site is dedicated to reporting the news as it actually happens; not as it is spun by the corporately funded mainstream media. You can find us on ourFacebook page. 