Incident Response, TDR

House subcommittee to discuss cyber threats to electrical grid

A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee will discuss weaknesses in the nation's electrical grid that could leave it vulnerable to nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks.

An EMP attack, which could lead to a widespread blackout, occurs when a nuclear weapon at a high altitude is detonated. The event would generate an electromagnetic pulse that interferes with, or damages, electronic equipment across an expansive area.

On Thursday, the House's Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies, will meet in Washington, D.C. to address how the attack method would fall within a full-scale cyber warfare plot by foreign adversaries, which could include the use of malware and hacking exploits.

Peter Pry, executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, a congressional advisory board that educates and defends the nation from EMP and other homeland security threats, will be among the panelists.

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