Nuclear Reactors Get Small
Steve Martin was ahead of his time when he told us “Let’s get small!” While you usually think of a nuclear reactor as a big affair, there’s a new trend …read more Continue reading Nuclear Reactors Get Small
Category Archives: department of energy
Nuclear Weapons Agency Hacked in Widening Cyberattack – Report
Sources said the DoE suffered “damage” in the attack, which also likely extends beyond the initially known SolarWinds Orion attack vector. Continue reading Nuclear Weapons Agency Hacked in Widening Cyberattack – Report
Utah renewables company was hit by rare cyberattack in March
A Utah-based renewable energy company was the victim of a rare cyberattack that temporarily disrupted communications with several solar and wind installations in March, according to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The attack left operators at the company, sPower, unable to communicate with a dozen generation sites for five-minute intervals over the course of several hours on March 5. It is believed to be the first cybersecurity incident on record that caused a “disruption” in the U.S. power industry, as defined by the Department of Energy. DOE defines a “cyber event” as a disruption to electrical or communication systems caused by unauthorized access to hardware, software or communications networks. Utilities have to promptly report any such incidents to DOE. The attack did not affect sPower’s more critical control systems and did not impact its power generation, the company said. But it nevertheless highlights how generic software vulnerabilities […]
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A ‘Cyber Event’ Disrupted the Power Grid in California and Wyoming, But Don’t Panic Just Yet
The Department of Energy says a “cyber event” disrupted operations in California, Wyoming, and Utah last month. But it’s unclear if hackers were behind it. Continue reading A ‘Cyber Event’ Disrupted the Power Grid in California and Wyoming, But Don’t Panic Just Yet
Power struggle: Government-funded researchers investigate vulnerabilities in EV charging stations
Charging stations for electric cars have sprung up across the country in recent years as hybrid vehicles continue to gain popularity. As those stations carry more wattage, their potential effect on local power flows has grown. The trend caught the eye of researchers at a top government cybersecurity lab, who have embarked on a multiyear project to learn how hacking a charging station might disrupt the quality and flow of power through a local grid. Kenneth Rohde, a cybersecurity researcher at the Idaho National Laboratory, explained the project to a room of engineers and hard-hat hackers at the S4 Conference last month in Miami. In a video, Rohde approached a charging station and ran an attack on the human machine interface (HMI), which affects the charging process by communicating with a control system. “Now you’ll see this power meter is jumping all over the place,” Rohde said. He executed […]
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Trump Admin Secretly Shipped Nuclear Waste to Nevada and State Officials Are ‘Outraged’
“They lied to the State of Nevada, misled a federal court, and jeopardized the safety of Nevada’s families and environment,” Governor Sisolak said. Continue reading Trump Admin Secretly Shipped Nuclear Waste to Nevada and State Officials Are ‘Outraged’
Don’t Fear the Green Reaper, the Department of Energy’s Creepy Recycling Mascot
The unsettling costume was dreamt up by an employee at the agency that oversees America’s nuclear stockpile. Continue reading Don’t Fear the Green Reaper, the Department of Energy’s Creepy Recycling Mascot
Scientists Are Automating Plutonium Production So NASA Can Explore Deep Space
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have eliminated a major bottleneck in the production of plutonium-238 for deep space exploration through automation. Continue reading Scientists Are Automating Plutonium Production So NASA Can Explore Deep Space
Mock grid, real threats: DARPA borrows an island for a cyberattack drill
Over the last 120 years, Plum Island, a forbidding swath of sand off Long Island, has been at the edge of U.S national security. The island housed gun batteries during the Spanish-American War, a torpedo storage facility during the First World War, and in recent decades it has been the government’s home for studying animal-borne diseases. In the first week of November, the military found yet another way for Plum Island to serve as a guinea pig. This time, though, it was for a decidedly 21st-century threat: cyberattacks that could hamstring the power grid. The fictional scenario saw contractors with the Pentagon’s R&D arm — the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — team up with engineers from prominent utilities to try to restore power that had been out for weeks following a hypothetical cyberattack. Their tall task: use a generator to gradually restart the power system, substation by substation — a process known as “black start” — all […]
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Two Government Employees Had Weapons-Grade Plutonium Stolen From Their Rental Car
Dude, where’s my weapons-grade fissile material? Continue reading Two Government Employees Had Weapons-Grade Plutonium Stolen From Their Rental Car