FC: Hackers penetrated California electricity computers, from LA Times

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Sun Jun 10 2001 - 22:01:09 PDT

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    http://www.latimes.com/news/front/20010609/t000047994.html
    
       Saturday, June 9, 2001 
       Hackers Victimize Cal-ISO
       By DAN MORAIN, Times Staff Writer
       
            SACRAMENTO--For at least 17 days at the height of
       the energy crisis, hackers mounted an attack on a computer system that
       is integral to the movement of electricity throughout California, a
       confidential report obtained by The Times shows.
            The hackers' success, though apparently limited, brought to light
       lapses in computer security at the target of the cyber-attack, the
       California Independent System Operator, which oversees most of the
       state's massive electricity transmission grid.
            Officials at Cal-ISO say that the lapses have been corrected and
       that there was no threat to the grid. But others familiar with the
       attack say hackers came close to gaining access to key parts of the
       system, and could have seriously disrupted the movement of electricity
       across the state.
    
       [...]
    
            The attackers focused on parts of the grid agency's computer
       system that are under development. In what may have been the most
       significant lapse, the system being developed was not behind a
       firewall, a security element designed to keep out those who are not
       entitled to access.
    
       [...]
    
    
    
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