U.S. Power Grid, the Internet, and Obama's Politics of Fear

I think there's a very good reason that we're hearing from "U.S. officials" that Chinese and Russian cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. power grid.

It's the politics of fear.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.

The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.

"The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid," said a senior intelligence official. "So have the Russians."

The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn't target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. "There are intrusions, and they are growing," the former official said, referring to electrical systems. "There were a lot last year."

Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet.

Authorities investigating the intrusions have found software tools left behind that could be used to destroy infrastructure components, the senior intelligence official said. He added, "If we go to war with them, they will try to turn them on."

Officials said water, sewage and other infrastructure systems also were at risk.

...Last week, Senate Democrats introduced a proposal that would require all critical infrastructure companies to meet new cybersecurity standards and grant the president emergency powers over control of the grid systems and other infrastructure.

Specialists at the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit, a nonprofit research institute, said attack programs search for openings in a network, much as a thief tests locks on doors. Once inside, these programs and their human controllers can acquire the same access and powers as a systems administrator.

The White House review of cybersecurity programs is studying ways to shield the electrical grid from such attacks, said James Lewis, who directed a study for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and has met with White House reviewers.

This is NOT a new development.

The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn't target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. "There are intrusions, and they are growing," the former official said, referring to electrical systems. "There were a lot last year."

THERE WERE A LOT LAST YEAR.

So why put this story out here now?

Why talk about Chinese and Russian spies controlling our power grid?

It's the Obama administration's manipulation of the public by using fear.

This is politics.

This story about cyberspies is really laying the groundwork for the Cybersecurity Act of 2009, S.773, sponsored by Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).

The bill would give Obama the power to shut down all Internet traffic and access private data at his discretion by declaring a "cybersecurity emergency."

Lefties, Libertarians, where's the outrage?

Obama and the Democrats and useful IDIOTS like Olympia Snowe are staging a power grab that is more frightening to me than the thought of Chinese and Russian cyberspies hacking our power grid.

We can deal with hostile acts by the Chinese and the Russians.

What's really terrifying is the threat to our liberty from within by our own government, and American citizens sitting passively, allowing it to happen.

WAKE UP!