RUSSIANS PENETRATED BURLINGTON ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT COMPUTER

DEC. 30, 2016, 11:09 PM BY ERIN MANSFIELD

Russian hackers penetrated a computer at the Burlington Electric Department that is not connected to the electrical grid, officials say. https://vtdigger.org/2016/12/30/russians-penetrated-computer-burlington-electric-dept/

Straight from Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-31/russian-hacking-code-found-in-vermont-power-utility-computer

Blame it on the Russians? What? VT Digger, you fell for it. Here's how it happened, exactly as predicted:

Hacking the Smart Grid

The hurried deployment of smart-grid technology could leave critical infrastructure and private homes vulnerable to hackers...

To receive the stimulus money, utilities had to install new devices across their entire customer base quickly. Security experts said that this could lead to problems down the road–as-yet-unknown vulnerabilities in hardware and software could open up new ways for attackers to manipulate equipment and take control of the energy supply. Utilities were encouraged to install this smart-grid technology–network-connected devices to help intelligently monitor and manage power usage–through funding from the U.S. government’s 2009 stimulus package. The smart systems could save energy and automatically adjust usage within homes and businesses. Customers might, for example, agree to let a utility remotely turn off their air conditioners at times of peak use in exchange for a discount.

Smart-grid deployments involve installing smart meters in homes and businesses across a utility’s coverage area...

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/420061/hacking-the-smart-grid/

http://smartmetersburlington.blogspot.com/2011/06/lockheed-involvement-in-beds-smart-grid.html

Boulder CO -- Cost Over-Runs Justified as Expected in an Experimental Project

Xcel originally anticipated that capital costs for the project, called SmartGridCity, would be around $15.3 million when the city was chosen as the site of the project in early 2008. But in May 2009, Xcel revised the number to $27.9 million — and now says a more accurate number is probably $42.1 million. The number excludes the cost of running and maintaining the grid... PUC rate analyst Harry DiDomenico, quoted in the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper, said the total project cost was likely to top $100 million.

"SmartGridCity has always been a research and development process. It's a living and breathing laboratory, and we've always said all along that there's parts that will work and parts that won't work."

http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/Business_Policy_Regulation/Boulder-SmartGridCity-Cost-Overruns-How-Bad-is-it-Really-1868.html

How Dare We Suggest That Lockheed is Connected to Itron?

Lockheed Martin and Itron Provide Demand Response-Ready

TAMPA, Fla. — March 23, 2010 — Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today announced an agreement to integrate Lockheed Martin’s SEEload™ Demand Response Management Solution with Itron’s smart grid platform, which includes the OpenWay^® smart metering system and Itron Enterprise Edition™ Meter Data Management (IEE MDM) system. The integrated solution will reduce the cost, complexity and risk for utilities deploying smart meters and implementing demand response (DR) programs.

The offering leverages Itron’s global leadership in smart metering and enterprise utility software solutions and Lockheed Martin’s world-class capabilities in security, command and control and systems-of-systems integration. Both contribute technically-proven, market-ready products prepared for integration.

https://www.itron.com/newsAndEvents/Pages/Lockheed-Martin-and-Itron-Provide-Demand-Response-Ready-.aspx

Lockheed / Sandia / BED Partnership

Sandia Corporation, doing business as Sandia National Laboratories, develops science-based technologies that support national security. Its technologies include PAN disrupter, a device that disables terrorist-type bombs without detonating them; synthetic aperture radar, an day-night imaging system that enables mapping; handheld and unmanned vehicle-carried MicroChemLab systems that detect and signal chemical/biological agents for homeland security, defense, and environmental applications; and laminar-flow cleanroom that is used for manufacturing electronics, pharmaceuticals, and for hospital surgery rooms. Sandia Corporation focuses on areas, such as nuclear weapons, energy, resources, and nonproliferation; defense systems and assessments; homeland security and defense; and science, technology, and engineering.

Conference energizes Vermont-Sandia smart grid partnership - "All of the conference participants expressed hope that this partnership will lead to innovations that prepare the nation to successfully modernize and enhance the capability of the American electrical grid."

http://www.insideview.com/directory/sandia-corporation