NSA veteran chief fears crippling cyber-attack on Western energy infrastructure

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11563746/NSA-veteran-chief-fears-crippling-cyber-attack-on-Western-energy-infrastructure.html

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Houston
Telegraph.co.uk
26 Apr 2015

The West is losing the worldwide fight against jihadist terrorism and 
faces mounting risks of a systemic cyber-assault by extremely capable 
enemies, the former chief of the National Security Agency has warned.

"The greatest risk is a catastrophic attack on the energy infrastructure. 
We are not prepared for that," said General Keith Alexander, who has led 
the US battle against cyber-threats for much of the last decade.

Gen Alexander said the "doomsday" scenario for the West is a hi-tech blitz 
on refineries, power stations, and the electric grid, perhaps accompanied 
by a paralysing blow to the payments nexus of the major banks.

"We need something like an integrated air-defence system for the whole 
energy sector," he said, speaking at a private dinner held by IHS CERAWeek 
in Texas.

[...]



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