CIA: Hackers shut down power to entire cities

Computer hackers have managed to shut down power to entire cities by breaking into the systems of electricity companies and then demanding money, a senior CIA analyst has claimed.

Tom Donahue told a utilities security conference in New Orleans all the successful hackings occurred outside America.

Hackers

The US government is concerned about the risk hackers could pose to power, water and chemical plants

He did not specify what countries were affected, when the power cuts happened or how long they lasted.

Mr Donahue, who was speaking at the Process Control Security Summit, later said in a statement: "We have information, from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into utilities, followed by extortion demands."

He said the CIA suspected some of the cyber-attackers "had the benefit of inside knowledge".

He added: "In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions through the Internet."