What you need to know about BLACK ENERGY

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Can Hackers Take Down Vital Utilities?
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The communication networks and software that link green energy sources to the grid as well as the electronic meters that send real time power usage to consumers and utilities are providing new back-door entry paths for computer hackers to raise havoc with the grid.

The disclosure this week that hackers known as “Dragonfly” and “Energetic Bear” gained access to power networks across the U.S. and Europe in the past 15 months is a reminder of how vulnerable the system has become.
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Partial transcript: Transcript for Can Hackers Take Down Vital Utilities?
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Now to that major new threat targeting our nation's critical infrastructure and learned this week that hackers have broken into the computers controlling our utilities. The life lines for water, gas and power are. Our experts here to weigh in on the dangerous consequences and what can be done to prevent them after this from ABC's senior justice correspondent Pierre Thomas.

They just issued a critical alert. The entire network went down. Reporter: In the movie "Live free or die hard," they were able to shut down the power grid and transportation network.

That kind of dramatic threat may not just be the stuff of Hollywood fiction. In fact, closer to reality than you think.

Sources tell ABC news hackers in overseas secretly planted malicious software inside computer systemed serving our nation's most important services and industries.

Water treatment facilities, power plants, gas pipelines, all critical for daily life now potentially at risk. Authorities believe this electronic Trojan horse was inserted into computer systems years ago but it's not been activated. They've given it an ominous name, black energy.

In theory black energy could allow a hacker to turn off a generator, flood a water treatment plant or shut down a gas pipeline. The threat is ongoing. ABC news obtained a new homeland security bulletin that warns, utility owners and operators to look for signs of compromise and to report any suspected intrusion immediately.

So explain that a little bit. This black energy malware which is now in our systems, we believe, why just park there? Well, because you want to be able to get in when you can get in.

It may be that if you wait it'll be too late to get in, new defenses will be created. You want to have the ?? when the war starts and bring the enemy to his knees.
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So Bubba this means the "grid" can go down at any time. Black energy malware has been emplanted nationwide in Water treatment facilities, power plants, gas pipelines.

If I was in the utility business I would be checking my computer systems and electronic machine controllers.

American could go back to the 1800's at any time. The way this country is going it could be a good thing.) Story Reports