GPS vulnerabilities could open grid to hacks - DHS report

GPS vulnerabilities could open grid to hacks — DHS report

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December 7, 2015

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Blog

Written by Editor

Peter Behr and Blake Sobczak, E&E reporters
EnergyWire: Friday, October 30, 2015

A newly disclosed government report warns that the power grid may become more vulnerable to hacking attacks on the Global Positioning System as grid operators expand the use of advanced monitors that depend on GPS signals.

The report by the Department of Homeland Security noted that timing signals transmitted from GPS system satellites are crucial inputs to synchrophasor systems that track operating conditions on the grid in millisecond intervals. Nearly 2,000 of the systems were installed on the North American grid as of the end of last year. Most of the rollout was funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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