CNN released an article on an experiment created by the Department of Homeland Security called the “Aurora” project that simulated a hacker attack on a power generator that caused the generator to stop working. The hack changed the operating cycle of the generator and sent it out of control, spewing smoke and shaking before finally stopping entirely. This potential disaster could actually be produced at the nation’s power plants and generators which could cause massive power outages for months. This would cripple the economy as lead to major catastrophes. This quote by Robert Jamison, an acting undersecretary of DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate, is not reassuring at all. “I can’t say it [the vulnerability] has been eliminated. But I can say a lot of risk has been taken off the table.” This means that terrorist groups may quit training suicide bombers and instead train cyber hackers that would cause a devastating attack by knocking out major power grids that would leave millions without power. The idea is quite scary. Check out the story at http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/27/power.at.risk/index.html.