Tightening Security On Cyber Attacks

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio New Service

Legislation to tighten prevention on cyber hackings into America’s electric grid entered the House and Senate today.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-Missi.) authors of their respective chamber’s bill want to give more authority to the Department of Homeland Security to address current vulnerabilities in the electric grid and better protect the system from potential threats.

The electric grid is the heart of all electricity supplies in America, providing every community in very state with power. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are “more than 3,100 electric utilities in America.” If one of the utilities is hacked into by an unwanted source, then whole towns or cities could be left without power. Hacking could also lead to a potential security risk as Homeland Security data could then be read by hackers.

Thompson said, “Right now FERC (The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)has the responsibility for working with the electric industry, but the industry polices itself, so basically what we want to do in this bill, is to give FERC additional authority to require
industries to do what’s in their best interests from the cyber standpoint. They’ve been good so far, but now that we know that potential threats are out here and the fact that hacking and other situations have occurred, we think it’s in our best interests that this legislation be put forward today.”

Lieberman added, “Our cyber systems are under constant attack...the reality is that we are not adequately defended and therefore the basic systems, including particularly electricity on which we depend are not protected. This has got to change. We have got to close the gap between the attacks on us and our ability to defend them.”

Changes to the current legislation, The Federal Power Act, outlined in Thompson and Lieberman’s amendment have stemmed from recommendations by the “Former Chairman of FERC, the chairman of the Association of the Utilities, numerous cyber experts and representatives from the industries,” who all told Congress that these changes were “necessary,” Lieberman said.

Lending his support to the bill, Congressman Peter King (R-N.Y.) said, “In the summer of 2003 when we had the blackout in the north-east that

King: Our children may end up paying our debt

By Suzia van Swol-University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) talks with TRNS correspondent Suzia van Swol at the 2009 House Republican Radio Row about the impacts that the U.S. will face by borrowing money from China. He says that if you borrow money, you have to pay it back , and “we’re either going to pay for it with inflated dollars, or it’ll be our children and our grandchildren paying this debt.” (1:01)