Cyber risk and the future of national response

In September 2007, in a remote laboratory in Idaho, researchers began to show that the security picture had begun to change, dramatically and irreversibly.
Dubbed "Aurora," the researchers' project demonstrated the ability of a cyber hacker to destroy physical equipment - in this case a generator used to create electricity for the power grid. The Aurora research brought the question of physical safety and the ability for a nation to defend itself from attack in the cyber world to the forefront. For the next three years, this difficult discussion would largely remain just a discussion, contemplated, if passionately, in corners of Washington and at wonk-ish meetings across the US.
The first dramatic images of a generator shaking and belching smoke were vivid enough to force the informed to begin to consider the implications of such an attack occurring in the real world. We began to envision scenarios of a broad-scale attack on US infrastructure, with the potential to cause blackouts that could last for months, contaminate our water supply, and cause industrial disasters. Forget Facebook - we began to worry about our ability to keep the lights on.

See more at: http://features.techworld.com/security/3305739/cyber-risk-and-the-future-of-national-response/