Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore writes in the pages of Cardinal News about the likelihood of Russian cyberattacks should there be a renewal of hostilities in Eastern Europe.
As Gilmore notes, the answer to that question is high to all but certain. Which means the real question for Virginians is how prepared organizations such as Dominion Energy are prepared for the eventuality:
With the very real danger of war ahead, I recently met with Adam Lee, the chief security officer at Dominion Energy to discuss the significant investments that Dominion has taken to protect Virginia’s energy grid from a deliberate attack that might cut off power to many thousands of households. Lee came to Dominion Energy from the FBI, one of the national security organizations responsible for counterintelligence efforts. Adam Lee brings a wealth of experience and a sophisticated team devoted to safeguarding Dominion’s electric grid from attack, not only by a national adversary, but also by criminals disabling the power grid, and then demanding ransom to start the computers back up again
America’s infrastructure is made up of gas pipelines, telecommunications, transportation, and power systems. An attack on any of them would disrupt America during an attack, and make it difficult for our country to respond. Adversaries now have the ability to attack those systems. Adam Lee informs me that Dominion is probed thousands of times a day, as adversaries seek weaknesses in the security systems put in place to protect the grid.
The unfortunate reality is that foreign and third-party actors have already begun the campaign, whether it is targeting Dominion’s infrastructure digitally or targeting them in more direct ways via environmentalist activist groups.
Gilmore warns more firmly:
We have all experienced power outages due to snow or wind storms. We customers lose light, the power to cook and often heat for our homes. When this occurs, we are patient, expecting the Dominion will repair the lines and restore power to our homes and businesses. A deliberate attack on our power sources intended to disrupt our society would be more difficult to repair without serious, even life-threatening consequences.
Read the rest of the article over at Cardinal News by clicking here.