Power grid security

In testimony, GAO warns of cyber vulnerability in the nation's power grid

The national power grid — classified by the government as a "critical infrastructure" network — may still be vulnerable to a cyber attack, even despite warnings from the Government Accountability Office in 2011 that major steps were required to mitigate the risk of cyber terrorism.

In a testimony Wednesday before the congressional subcommittees on Energy, and Research and Technology, and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Gregory Wilshusen, director of Information Security Issues for the GAO, followed up on the 2011 Critical Infrastructure Protection report in which the GAO made a number of recommendations to a wide range of organizations involved in maintenance and regulation of power grids across the country, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy.