Utility experts identify China as threat to US power grid

公用事業專家認為中國對美國電網造成威脅

Panelists testify before House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Beijing's capacity for cyber attacks


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Utility experts in the United States testified before the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce about the increasing threat that China poses to U.S. critical infrastructure on Tuesday (July 18).

A panel of four experts outlined how developments in artificial intelligence and other computing technologies may provide adversaries like China with dangerous new tools that could seriously compromise the U.S. electrical grid as well as gas and oil pipelines.

Ahead of the testimony, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rogers said, “It’s vital that we secure our critical energy infrastructure from these threats,” in reference to recent Chinese hacks into email accounts at the Department of State and the Department of Commerce. She noted that physical attacks on the U.S. power grid increased by 71% in 2022 over 2021, and cyberattacks are also on the rise.

Given these circumstances and China’s increasing ability to launch cyberattacks that can damage U.S. energy storage and transportation systems, the U.S. must “have a real conversation about how we can harden our energy grid and enhance its resiliency to better protect it from all kinds of attacks,” said Rogers.

The former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, Bruce Walker, said that China is already capable of launching cyberattacks that could imperil gas and oil reserves in the U.S. Paul Stockton, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, referenced a 2022 national intelligence report that indicated Chinese agents were already targeting pipeline systems in the U.S. for disruption.

Since AI technology is likely to greatly facilitate Beijing’s capacity to compromise the U.S. power grid, Stockton recommended that the U.S. invest more into studying how AI can boost the defense of critical infrastructure. He also urged more collaboration between the oil and gas subsectors of the U.S. energy industry to ensure the country’s major utility operators are prepared for and resilient in the face of next-generation cyberattacks.

Another panelist, Manny Cancel, senior vice president of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, referred to China as “one of the most dynamic cyber threats,” and warned that they are showing increasing sophistication in their ability to infiltrate and disrupt computer networks.

The full committee hearing can be viewed on the website of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.