Schumer: Our Highest Priority Should Be Protecting Our Critical Infrastructure From Cyber-Attacks

On the heels of news reports revealing that hackers may have launched cyber-attacks on nuclear power plants and other energy facilities, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today (July 12) said Upstate New York’s nuclear power plants like Ginna, FitzPatrick, Indian Point, Nine Mile, and The Niagara Power Project could be vulnerable to future attacks. Schumer said that we must do everything we can to mitigate threats like these and improve our critical infrastructure defenses.

“The reality is our nation’s infrastructure is far too vulnerable to hackers and we must armor ourselves against this growing threat,” said Schumer. “The recently revealed cyber-attacks these last couple months are yet another wakeup call that our cities and sensitive industrial systems – like our power plants across Upstate New York – are way too vulnerable for comfort. Our power plants keep our communities running and any threat to our power supply must be addressed. That is why I proposed a comprehensive infrastructure blueprint that includes a real federal investment to shield and ward off any cyber threats from crippling our critical infrastructure like power plants.”

Therefore, in light of the reports of a possible hack, revealed by The New York Times and Bloomberg News, Schumer said that we must do everything we can to mitigate threats like these and improve the cyber security of our critical infrastructure.

Specifically, Schumer said this revelation suggests that the federal government needs to dedicate more federal resources toward ensuring our public infrastructure, including power plants, is tightly secured. This includes making sure any infrastructure bill considered in Congress includes the necessary funding to upgrade our critical infrastructure to ward off the persistent threat of cyber-attacks.

In addition, Schumer sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary and the Department of Energy Secretary requesting a status update on their efforts to assess the resilience of and protect our critical infrastructure networks.

During the call, Schumer said it is disconcerting to know that systems controlling the energy that powers our communities could be breached – and relatively easily – by perpetrators. Past cyber-attacks, in New York like the breach in the town of Brookhaven’s website last month and the Bowman Avenue Dam in 2015, revealed that our critical systems are often connected directly to office computer networks, and are therefore susceptible to being breached.

Because the United States has so many industrial-control systems connected to the Internet, Schumer said it is critical Congress invests more funding to guard against cyber-attacks that could impact our towns and cities by causing statewide blackouts or other negative consequences.

Schumer has long advocated for increased cyber security for our nation’s critical infrastructure. In June of this year, he urged the Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to launch an investigation to help Long Island officials uncover facts and recover from a cyber-breach in town of Brookhaven.

Schumer specifically said that “we must do everything we can to prevent threats like these and improve our cybersecurity.”

Last year, Schumer urged U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Communications Commission to come up with a comprehensive plan that will help protect Upstate New York 911 call centers from being compromised by hackers.

Schumer cited a study that revealed hackers have the ability to overwhelm emergency phone lines, which could result in a total collapse of the 911 system’s ability to answer and respond to emergencies.

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