Coming to an electric meter near you: a cyberwarrior

The Wall Street Journal has a sobering report this morning: Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies. There were about 70,000 cybersecurity breaches in the US last year, mostly involving your computer and mine, but an increasing number target government and other systems vital to the running of the economy. '"The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid," said a senior intelligence official. "So have the Russians."' The idea apparently is to leave software controls behind that can be activated if needed. (Recall that Russia has employed hackers against computer systems in the Baltic nations and in Georgia, to punish those countries for their sins, and that Chinese hackers have likewise targeted the Dali Lama.) As I wrote last month, if you aren't worried about this, chances are you've misjudged the situation. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford