The administration is seeing a “big and growing threat” from possible cyber attack against the nation’s natural gas infrastructure, as well as new cars and the sprawling traffic management system.
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz discussed the threat Monday while addressing Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid’s National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas.
He said the utility sector is usually the “poster child” for the threat the U.S. faces from cyber attacks, but there is also a threat to natural gas compressor stations, vehicle traffic management system, and new cars and trucks that have much more digital hardware that makes them increasingly vulnerable to being hacked.
He said much more has to be done on training cybersecurity specialists to counter the threat, but “training of professionals [is] … not keeping up with demand.”
In response to Moniz’s comments, President Obama’s former senior counsel John Podesta asked if are cars really getting “hacked.” Moniz said with increased digital interconnectivity comes a greater risk of being hacked.
Moniz did not discuss the level of the threat posed to natural gas compressors, vehicles and the traffic management hardware of cities. But he said these are areas that are being threatened to underscore the growing concern of cyber attack to critical infrastructure.
Natural gas compressor stations are used to move natural gas through interstate pipelines to commercial, municipal and residential consumers. It is safe to say that any interruption to compressor stations from a cyber attack could interfere with the safe delivery of gas to customers and stall a number of industries that rely on it.
It is also worth noting that the U.S. electric grid is becoming more dependent on natural gas, and many city buses are powered by the clean-burning fuel. Many more residential customers rely on natural gas to stay warm, and any loss of heat to vulnerable groups like the elderly could prove fatal.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a report in 2013 that traced the first attempts by would-be hackers to attack these stations in the Midwest and Plains states.
More recently, cybersecurity firms have reported increased threats to vehicles and to gasoline stations from hackers.
Moniz said the Energy Department is trying to keep up with the growing threats, and has created partnerships with the industry to increase collaboration.
