Energy firm points to hackers after Kiev power outage

Re: Why is the substation connected to the internet?

"Because there's too much data for a modem connection"

Is there? On what planet? Please justify, including real world examples, bearing in mind that many readers are connected via LV/MV substations with zero telemetry, where fault notification to the distribution company is courtesy of the first customer who phones in to say their power is off, and the distribution company then wait to see who else calls in before they have a clue about the extent of the outage.

The idea of VNCing in to a smalltime substation is just unbelievably wrong in so many ways.The cost of the compute power and even (in most places) the comms would be near negligible, if people were engaging brains before deploying Window boxes everywhere.

In a joined up world where paperpushers were extinct and engineers with vision were in charge, smartmeters could have helped with voltage monitoring and outage notification, especially so if near-universal cellphone coverage had been a costed part of the plan. Not a chance in reality of course.

Back to reality: what live data from a typical small scale LV/MV substation needs to be polled more than once a minute or so? Monitoring of fast changes at substations *could* be done with a tiny bit of local intelligence and local storage and (again) reporting on a tiimescale of minutes.

"there is more than enough talent and knowledge to fix the problems. However, applying it is its own problem."

Indeed. It's not going to improve while the cost of failure is routinely passed straight through to the customer - where's the motivation to get things right?

Re: A serious threat.

Even if the Pub has no power, they can still sell bottles of various tipples...

Have you checked stress tested your "best laid plan"? Your chosen hostelry may not have any candles (or other emergency lighting) and if their cash register is not battery backed they might be reluctant to fall back on to loose change in a cardboard box. The staff might not even be able to remember what individual drinks actually cost as the cash register (just as likely to be a PC with a touch screen these days) probably tells them automatically.

I'd hate you to repair to the pub only to find it closed.

Sales opportunity: try selling them a decent UPS.

Re: A serious threat.

"a few pounds of C4."

C4 may well be sufficient, but it is definitely not necessary.

If a few small teams (3? maybe 2?) a few miles apart can co-ordinate their work, all that is needed to achieve the same result as the C4 (assuming your process is similar to the one I have in mind) is a few half decent tool shops (hire or purchase, take your pick). and some tools which are so common that they may even be readily available untraceably without needing a shop.

Keep calm and stock up on LED lighting. And maybe camping cookers. You know it makes sense.

You made me spill my Borscht!

Seriously, it could have been Moose and Squirrel. Those guys are spies, saboteurs, and known mooseberry traffickers!

Re: Bah!

@Rich 11

"It was done by blokes trained to recognise problems and given a van to go check up on hardware every now and again."

And for a period of time it could also be adequately done remotely if necessary, by investing [1] in telemetry kit which was capable of doing its job using low data rate connectivity, e.g. the kind of thing which could be polled every few seconds over an RF modem (and/or, where applicable, a more traditional modem on a private wire or PSTN line).

You could still do that kind of thing today over the cellular networks, if need be.

Except for one little snag: the cellular network coverage isn't anything like good enough. Still, the markets will sort it, won't they.

[1] I know, I know: privatised utilities and other corporate cartels (e.g. the cellcos) don't have that word in their dictionaries.