A computer technician at a data center that administers the electrical power supply to part of California's vast power grid pleaded guilty on Friday to trying to shut down the grid. The technician, Lonnie Charles Denison, 33, was working at the data center in Folsom, Calif., in April when he broke a protective glass cover to a power-switch box and pressed a power-off switch, leaving the power grid vulnerable to shortages for two hours, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Repairs cost the state $14,000. Denison had been working as a contract employee.
Denison pleaded guilty in court to hitting the "emergency power-off" switch, and said that he was unhappy with his employer at the time. Denison had originally been charged with sending an e-mailed bomb threat the day after the incident that read: "Hey, at one point I respected you...you have a new kid. So this is only because of him. Get out before the timer expires. Not long now. Take care." No blackout occurred as a result of the incident, but 20 computer specialists were required to repair the damage, according to the newspaper. Denison is due to be sentenced on February 29.
Our power grid has huge flaws and is much more vulnerable to attack that most people seem to think- ( <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=515&doc_id=136047" target="_newWindow">http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=515&doc_id=136047</a> )
How Many Engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
Broken access panel? - then it must be a hardware problem - but he pressed the button and nuttn happend - Where did the software queue that action? And BTW - this is California ISO - not a government body but an independent collective of private industry - the chewing gum and bandaid that underlies the infrastructure of largest economy in these United States.
Google creates an animated doodle that features a boy, a girl, Google's search engine, and a jump rope. But might there be darker, more analytical, more troubling interpretations to this tale?
The Silicon Valley online payments startup grew by 1,000 percent last year and is hopeful it can repeat that level of growth this year. To do that, it's had to move away from its early friends-and-family roots and embrace small businesses.
Chamtech's spray-on antenna uses a nano material to provide a low-power boost to antenna range. The wireless-in-a-can product may some day bring an end to unsightly cell towers.
EnerG2 opens a plant to make an engineered carbon that will improve performance of energy storage devices and make storage for start-stop hybrid cars less expensive.
I dreaming?
That seems to mean that no one knows what's running the whole
thing.
Now, all we need to do is convince the electric utilities to pare down
their profits and invest in the grid and security..