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Terror not ruled out Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WorldNewsTonight/power_cause030815.htmlhttp://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WorldNewsTonight/power_cause030815.html
The Terror Question
No Signs of Deliberate Attack in Blackout, But Possibility Not Ruled Out
Aug. 15— Despite official assurances to the contrary, could terrorists have exploited a vulnerable power grid to cause Thursday's massive blackout?
The cause of the failure remains a mystery, as power was gradually returning from the largest-ever blackout in the nation's history, affecting some 50 million people in areas from Michigan to New York.
And while there is no indication the power grid was sabotaged, some experts caution it is too soon to rule out any possible explanation — including cyber-terror.
"Anybody who says that they know what happened last night is lying," said Dick Clarke, an ABCNEWS consultant and former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure, and Counterterrorism.
"If it were a cyber-attack, you wouldn't know right away," added Clarke. "And you might never know."
A Vulnerable System
Clarke said a series of simulated computer attacks on electric power grids four years ago were almost all successful, showing the vulnerability of the system.
Ironically, utility companies had just agreed on cyber-security rules days ago, said Clarke, although they had not implemented them yet.
Over the past two years, there have been numerous instances of what law enforcement officials called "credible intrusion events" in computers into the electric grid system.
In one, during the spring of 2001, the FBI detected hackers routed through China who were trying to invade the power grid in Florida. The sophistication of the hacker attack deeply concerned law enforcement officials, and new safety standards were implemented in response to the problem.
The National Academy of Science also warned of the dangers of a cyber-attack on U.S. electrical systems. A skillful cyber-attack would not leave any obvious "footprints," or signs of deliberate tampering, experts warned.
Officials Reject Terror Theory
There were various conflicting explanations in the first hours after the lights went out, but officials were unanimous in arguing there was no evidence of terrorism.
"At this time we have no indication that these events are related to a terrorist act," a senior FBI official told ABCNEWS today. The official noted that the FBI's investigation was ongoing.
The same point was made by President Bush on Thursday night.
"The one thing I can say for certain is that this was not a terrorist act," President Bush said from California, where he was on a two-day fund-raising drive.
Many industry and government experts suggested instead of terrorism, an outdated and overloaded power grid system was probably at fault, though it was too soon to know what specifically went wrong.
A spokesman for Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said a lightning strike on part of a Niagara, N.Y., power plant probably caused the blackout. U.S. officials, however, rejected the theory.
This morning, there was still no agreement even on where the power outage began.
Experts such as Michehl Gent, president of the North American Electric Reliability Council, insisted terrorism was not involved. The council is a nonprofit body formed after the 1965 Northeast blackout to prevent future power outages.
"We don't have any indication of blown-up equipment," Gent told Good Morning America today. "So we're almost certain that it is not terrorism of any kind."
Gent also insisted it was extremely unlikely a disgruntled employee or outside saboteur caused the calamity, but vowed the investigation would discover what went wrong.
"We will get to the bottom of this and fix it. We will not cover anything up," Gent said. "We'll name names and find out what happened."
ABCNEWS' chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross contributed to this report.
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