Cyber spies infiltrate US systems

2009-04-09 12:37

New York - Cyber spies from China, Russia and elsewhere have infiltrated the US electrical grid and other key infrastructures and have the ability to disrupt them during a crisis or war, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Quoting current and former national-security officials, the report said that the intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure yet, but had laid the groundwork to do so in the future.

The cyber invasion appeared pervasive across the US and doesn't target a particular company or region, the report said. Apart from the country's massive electrical grid, the intrusions target other key infrastructures like water, sewage and financial networks.

Vulnerable to catastrophic failure

The report highlighted the vulnerabilities facing technologically advanced countries that are increasingly networking their most basic service industries.

While this offers massive advantages in efficiency and flexibility, it also makes them more vulnerable to catastrophic failure when attackers are able to overcome security measures and gain control of crucial parts of the system.

The report came out just prior to the completion of a far-reaching cyber security review ordered by US President Barack Obama. His administration is weighing whether to expand the pre-existing $17bn programme to protect government networks to also address vulnerabilities in key private computer networks.

- DPA