north america's electrical grid @ risk v1.3

Copyright © 2016 Global 1 Research & Development, Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Global 1 Research & Development, Ltd. William D. Kiss, CEO

v 1.3


• Explain the different Attack Vectors relating to the vulnerability of our BES (Basic Electrical Supply) The North American Electric Grid

• An Attack Vector is a vulnerability that an adversary exploits to cause harm / inflict damage • DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has defined 16 Critical Economic Sectors. • Our nation has ONE extreme vulnerability – our TOTAL dependence on electric power.

Without a constant supply of this commodity, ALL sectors of our economy cease to function.


• We have (basically) 3 grids that are interconnected: North-Eastern / Mid-West, Texas and Western. (NPCC+RFC+SERC+FRCC+MRO+SPP)= North-Eastern / Mid-West; TRE=Texas; WECC=Western

Should the North-Eastern / Mid-West grid section be “Taken-Out”, the Texas and Western Grid Sections will not be able to replace the electric capacity which was supplied by this section. (Map Courtesy NERC)

• There are three (3) scenarios that can “Take-Out” the North-Eastern / Mid-West Electric Grid: 2 which are human-caused and 1 that is a natural phenomenon.


A- Human Caused (ONE): Kinetic Events (traditional attack warfare) has two possible scenarios: a. A large scale coordinated attack with AK-47s employed to destroy the extremely large transformers

contained within major electrical distribution sub-stations. These extremely large transformers are vital to the voltage reduction that occurs as a result of the use of high-transmission voltages. They cannot be easily replaced. (WSJ February 6, 2014 Attack On PG&E Metcalf, CA Substation [April 16, 2013])

• Fencing Materials are available to retard the velocity and shred AK-47 projectiles. These need to be erected around all relevant substations. Available at www.BetaFenceUSA.com

b. The detonation of a thermonuclear device (TND) at altitude, resulting in the generation of an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) that would “fry” the grid and all electrical / electronic devices in operation at the time of detonation.

• This is the primary reason the U.S. Government doesn’t want the PRNK (North Korea) and Iran to have ICBM capabilities.

B- Human Caused (TWO): A Cyber Warfare Attack (Grid-Focused) The below three system classes are complex computer control systems in use today in many industries globally, such as manufacturing, energy, water, power generation, etc. Sadly, most of these systems use un-encrypted internet connections for control communications, leaving them highly vulnerable to attack.

a. ICS – Industrial Control Systems b. PLC – Programmable Logic Controllers c. SCADA – Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition

TOTAL SHINE Study Vulnerable Ports reported by SHODAN in U.S. (616,994) as of 1 Oct. 2014 This attack is complicated to execute but is achievable by our adversaries. NSA Director Admiral Mike Rodgers testified that China and Russia have implanted malware in our grid control systems for years (11/2014 Congressional Testimony).

C- Natural Phenomenon: Carrington Effect Level – A Significant CME (Coronal Matter Ejection) (Hyper Sunspot Activity) In brief, this event generates an ionized particle cloud that moves thru space at a speed of approx. 750 miles/second (Original speed of CME was 1,800-2,200 miles/second) and may intersect with Earth’s orbit around the sun. The result of this is an EMP with worse effects than a TND detonation at altitude…

Example of a CME

CME and Resulting Potential CLE Electrified Ionosphere (Earth)

(Illustrations Courtesy NASA)

http://www.betafenceusa.com/


The U.S. Government has NASA’s STEREO Probe Satellites in close sun orbit to give us early warning of a Carrington Effect Level CME. This combined with newly created GIC (Geomagnetic Induced Current) Monitors should give us adequate time to respond and prevent major damage to the Extra Large Transformers in our Grid. Let’s hope everyone is up to the task. More information is available on solutions to these problems. For More Information Contact: Global 1 Research & Development, Ltd. www.BillKiss.com

Creators of: Cyber Security A to Z™ and Data Breach Boot Camp Seminars™.

http://www.billkiss.com/

north america's electrical grid @ risk v1.3

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