|
Idaho National Laboratory ran the Aurora Generator Test in 2007 to demonstrate how a cyber attack could destroy physical components of the electric grid.〔 The experiment used a computer program to rapidly open and close a diesel generator's circuit breakers out of phase from the rest of the grid and explode. This vulnerability is referred to as the ''Aurora Vulnerability''. This vulnerability is especially a concern because much grid equipment supports using Modbus and other legacy communications protocols that were designed without security in mind. As such, they don't support authentication, confidentiality, or replay protection, which means any attacker that can communicate with the device can control it and use the Aurora Vulnerability to destroy it. This is a serious concern, as the failure of even a single generator could cause widespread outages and possibly cascading failure of the entire power grid, like what occurred in the Northeast blackout of 2003. Additionally, even if there are no outages from the removal of a single component (N-1 resilience), there is a large window for a second attack or failure, as it could take more than a year to replace it, because many generators and transformers are custom-built for the substation. The Aurora vulnerability can be mitigated by preventing the out-of-phase opening and closing of the breakers. Some suggested methods include adding functionality in protective relays to ensure synchronism and adding a time delay for closing breakers.〔 == Experiment == To prepare for the experiment, the researchers procured and installed a 2.25 MW generator and connected it to the substation. They also needed access to a programmable digital relay or another device that controls the breaker. That access could have been through a mechanical or digital interface.〔 In the experiment, the researchers used a cyber attack to open and close the breakers out of sync, to maximize the stress. Each time the breakers were closed, the torque from the synchronization caused the generator to bounce and shake, eventually causing parts of the generator be to ripped apart and sent flying off.〔 Some parts of the generator landed as far as 80 feet away from the generator.〔 The unit was destroyed in roughly three minutes. However, this was only because the researchers assessed the damage from each iteration of the attack. A real attack could have destroyed the unit much faster.〔 The experiment was designated as unclassified, for official use only.〔 On September 27, 2007, CNN published an article based on the information and video DHS released to them,〔 and on July 3, 2014, DHS released many of the documents related to the experiment as part of a FOIA request.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aurora Generator Test」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|