Can a Hacker/Cyber Warfare Expert Cause a Transformer to Explode?

[Tesla_WTC_Solution]

Considering all the explosions in the last few years, bumfuggery at the power plants (including nuclear ones ffs!), and our nation's fine history of mysterious airliner crashes, I've been rather tormented by the question of whether a cyber-warfare expert can access and damage/destroy critical components of electrically-controlled and monitored systems, such as the almighty power transformer. :(

I read tonight that in the event of a mass power outage, which could in theory be triggered by a hacker, oil and gas prices will skyrocket.

In the recent past we've seen more than a few such incidents carried out on a small scale. Some may have been purely accidental, or due to oversight... but others? We may never know.

:spy:

http://standpointmag.co.uk/living-history-april-12-web-worriers-michael-burleigh-cyberwarfare-uscybercom-stuxnet-china-russia


One much-touted incident of cyberwarfare occurred at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric plant in Russia in 2009. A 900-ton turbine was ripped out of its mount by a sudden surge of water. This caused a transformer to explode, killing 75 people. But according to a leading cyber-warfare sceptic, Thomas Rid, the initial incident happened because of a fire at a power station 500 miles away. This persuaded technicians at Sayano-Shushenskaya to overload their 30-year-old turbine, whose mooring bolts broke under the strain. It was not a case of cyberwarfare at all. Then there are the Russian cyberwarfare attacks on Estonia and Georgia of 2007-08. The first involved remote crashing of government, media and bank computer systems after the Estonian government relocated a war memorial erected by Soviet occupiers. Since many of the attacking computers had been hijacked in the US, it is not certain whether a government or incensed Russian patriots were behind the assault. The jamming of Georgian communications systems seems more like the handiwork of the Russian invaders, but which sophisticated armies don't do exactly the same?

http://60minutes.9msn.com/article.aspx?id=8376293
Friday, November 18, 2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/hurricane-sandy-horror-stories_n_2060683.html
Hurricane Sandy Horror Stories: Power Plant Explosion, Mass Blackouts, Internet Outages, More
The Huffington Post | By Britney Fitzgerald
Posted: 11/02/2012 3:25 pm EDT

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/large-blast-at-russian-power-plant-stops-motorists-in-their-tracks/
Large blast at Russian power plant stops motorists in their tracks
Posted on February 9, 2012

http://cyberarms.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/the-weapon-that-disabled-iraqs-power-grid/

pdf (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=cyber%20warfare%20electrical%20power%20plant%20transformer%20explosion&source=web&cd=15&cad=rja&ved=0CEEQFjAEOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.csbaonline.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F08%2FCSBA_Cyber_Warfare_For_Web_1.pdf&ei=lO23UfbQFY-GiQLyroHYDg&usg=AFQjCNFMzY_O3cGNP6HSlfiWQbGcRntSdw&bvm=bv.47810305,d.cGE)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/31/sandy-natgas-demand-idUSL1E8LV3UF20121031

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I guess the thing to watch is this: computer empire billionaires buying stock in oil and natural gas.

In the event of a long-term mass power outage the price of oil and gas will skyrocket.

You can probably guess one of the modern billionaires that fits this bill.

Who runs the most powerful software and computer company in the world,
and who bought 7+ million shares of BP right before the Gulf of Mexico disaster?

:wacko:

[Strat]

Surely there's someone more qualified to answer this than myself, though with my basic knowledge and experience with electricity I think the answer is no, not necessarily.

I'd imagine a hacker could shut down the grid but it would be generally impossible to 'target' a particular transformer. I'd imagine if it's possible to blow the first one in the circuit, but after that all the other ones would be intact. The entire grid (in that particular circuit) would be down till the particular transformer is repaired.

EDIT: Just realized I kinda contradicted myself. I didn't read your whole post, I thought you were saying an individual and particular transformer higher up the circuit. That being said your answer is yes.

[Sunny-side-up]

Hi Tesla_WTC_Solution good point.

Short answer from me: I'm sure a
'cyber-warfare expert'
could do any nasty thing he/she/it wanted! :(

[InCiDeR]

Everything that is connected to a network or internet can be manipulated in one way or another. Even things that are not directly connected to a network but have some kind of visible interface or input device are also open for manipulation, if they are not isolated behind strong shielding. In that case you have to manually put the malicious code into the system.

[Lazlo]

Yes

And there is more than one way to do it, unfortunately.

On the bright side, there is a lot of redundancy in the system and it could be brought back up rather quickly.

What is way more frightening than a cyber attack is an EMP weapon or Carrington event.