House Panel Examines EMP, Cyber Terror Threats to Electric Grid
Legislation must allow fast action in case of physical attacks, like an EMP pulse, or cyber attacks against the electric grid, experts say
Although some have considered an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) on the nation’s electric grid unlikely, experts told a panel of the House Homeland Security Committee Tuesday that if the US completely ignores the possibility of such an attack, the possibility of an attack gets much higher.
“Some in government have taken the position that EMP attack and geomagnetic storm disruption are low-probability events…” said William Graham, chairman for the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse, a congressionally mandated commission to study the risk of EMP pulses. “By ignoring large scale, catastrophic EMP vulnerability, we invite such attack on our infrastructure by adversaries looking to attack us where we are weak, not where we are strong.”
A high-altitude EMP is the result of the detonation of a nuclear warhead at altitudes between 40-400 km above the Earth’s surface, Graham told the House Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology.
“The immediate effects of EMP are disruption of, and damage to, electronic systems and electrical infrastructure,” Graham said. “EMP is not reported in the scientific literature to have direct effects on people.”
Subcommittee chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) said the risk of an EMP attack or cyber attack is a significant threat to homeland security.
“Many nation states, like Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, have offensive cyber attack capabilities, while terrorist groups like Hezbollah and al Qaeda continue to work to develop capabilities to attack and destroy critical infrastructure like the electric grid through cyber means,” Clarke said.
