Doug Kanter wrote:

Perhaps you missed the excellent Frontline (PBS) show about 8 months ago, in
which they discussed how vulnerable our infrastructure is to computer
attacks.

The same people who told us that the whole thing would shut down on Jan
1st 2000 at 12:00 Am.

For viewers who just don't get it, they emphasized that there are
quite a few utilities whose products (water, electricity, gas) can no longer
be controlled quickly by manually turning valves or throwing switches. They
interviewed people whose job it was to purposely attack computer systems.
They succeeded more often than they would've liked.

I've been hearing this for many years. I can't believe that these
utility companies have not invested in security systems (firewalls,
encryption, virus scanning etc.), to make the possibility less likely.
Also, some former "hackers" are now making tons of money consulting
security solutions to protect companies from other hackers.


So, don't assume anything about the cause of ANY infrastructure failure
until all the facts are in.

It sounds like you guys already are. Chuck seems to think the terrorism
angle is the most likely, and from the sounds of it, you do too.

The bottom line is, absent of evidence to the contrary, assume it was a
simple breakdown in infrastructure. It's not responsible for us to
assume the worst until proven otherwise.

Dave