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2003-04 Seminars
Cyberspace Influence on the Aug 14
blackout
Tom Longstaff
Software Engineering Institute
Abstract
Of the many indicators, causes,
and participating factors that existed in the US and Canadian electric
infrastructures, one of the most neglected is the role Cyberspace plays
in the proper operation of the power grid. Many "root causes"
have been blamed for the Aug 14 NE blackout, but the true point of no
return for this event appears to have been caused by a software fault in
the EMS system for one particular company. Although there is no evidence
in this case of an external cause for this fault, study of the fault can
illustrate how vulnerable the grid is to Cyberspace manipulation. This
presentation and discussion will focus on the interaction of the
electricity and cyberspace infrastructures.
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