Cyber Threat to US Power Grids Escalating as Election Approaches

US power grids are facing heightened risks of cyber and physical attacks as the election nears، according to the nation’s top reliability regulator.

The increased threats come from state-backed hackers as well as the type of physical assault that happened at North Carolina substations in late 2022، said Jim Robb، chief executive officer of the North American Electric Reliability Corp.، which sets federal standards.

“We are anticipating a fairly active year on the security front،” Robb said at an Electric Power Supply Association conference in Washington on Tuesday.

Mysterious attacks

A string of mysterious attacks on power stations across the U.S. in 2022 has rekindled fears about the vulnerabilities of America’s electricity infrastructure، which security officials have warned presents a growing target to extremists and saboteurs.

Attacks and suspicious activity at U.S. power stations reached a decade-long high last year، with more than 100 reported incidents in the first eight months of 2022، according to a TIME review of the Department of Energy’s most recent data، which runs through August. Since then، there have beenat least 18more publicly reported attacks or potential attacks on substations and power plants in Florida، North Carolina، Oregon، South Carolina، and Washington.

It’s not clear who’s behind all this. But the surge has alarmed federal officials and security analysts، who warned last year of “credible، specific plans” by violent domestic groups to attack the power grid. Violent conspiracies focused on targeting and destroying energy infrastructure have become one of the top themes on extremist social-media platforms and messaging apps. In each of the last three years، law enforcement has foiled plots by right-wing extremists designed to sow chaos by attacking America’s electrical infrastructure.