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| Trump is concerned about the breach of the American electricity network |
President Donald Trump took steps to protect the U.S. electricity grid from cyber attacks and foreign influences and signed an executive order to prevent the U.S. Energy Agency from purchasing electrical devices manufactured outside the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy welcomed the new decree.
The executive decree applies to large energy systems, including power plants and transmission lines that transmit energy at the national level. The President said that a successful attack on the American electricity grid would pose a major threat to our economy, human health and security, and would weaken the United States' ability to defend itself and its allies.
He added: "Foreign opponents have exploited the weaknesses of the huge American energy system, which is the goal of people who want to commit harmful acts against the United States and its people, including malicious cyber activities."
The White House argues that foreign enemies can manipulate devices manufactured outside the United States to introduce security holes in electrical appliances and then use them to achieve potential catastrophic consequences.
The order not only prevents network operators from purchasing and installing new foreign devices, but also enables the Secretary of Energy to initiate procedures to identify and develop existing electrical devices that are manufactured outside the United States. Strategies with government agencies and the private sector to isolate, monitor, and replace them.
According to the US Department of Energy, the federal government spends millions of dollars annually purchasing new devices for large power grids. However, the department still warns of potential weaknesses in the process, as government procurement regulations often restrict the United States. Place the order. Cheaper.
President Trump cited the threat of piracy as the main reason for signing a new executive regulation. Although the United States has not yet been subject to a devastating attack by foreign hackers, the U.S. Energy Network ecosystem has been the subject of ongoing investigations into foreign hackers. The Russian participants are the most stubborn.
In 2018, the Department of Homeland Security issued a security announcement regarding the increased operation of the Russian network against the U.S. energy sector. In 2019 unknown hackers used a small hole to restart the network operator's firewall for several hours, but they did not. Violation of the operator's internal network.
In January this year, the FBI issued a special warning to network operators about hackers targeting the software supply chain, so the malware used in the attack was similar to the malware previously used by supported hackers. By the Iranian government.
It should be noted that the Trump administration and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have taken similar measures to ensure the security of the U.S. communications network. The committee voted last year that if it bought components from Huawei and (ZTE), it would deny any U.S. telecom operator or ISP the money.