Governor O’Malley: Feds could help electric grids more resilient to withstand cyber attacks

After the recent derecho storm, which killed nearly two dozen people and wiped out power for a week in some areas in the Metro D.C. region, vulnerability to a cyber attack has become a potential problem, reports say. James Woolsey, former CIA director, says there are 50 separate public utility commissions across the country, but a leader is needed to take charge in the event the entire system goes down.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley suggests the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the place to start. “Everyone has a role to play here,” O’Malley said. “We need to make our electric grid more resilient and do the upgrades that are required in order to make it more resilient to more extreme weather, because of climate change, but also more resilient so that it can withstand a cyber attack.” Mayor Vincent Gray of D.C. acknowledged the potential security problem, but also recognized his uncertainty to solve the issue. “We know that we are increasingly vulnerable,” Gray said. “Whether a federal agency to oversee that is the right answer, I don’t know at this stage.”