The next time you’re in the middle of an electric blackout, consider that it might be a deliberate, state-sponsored attack:

Spies hacked into the U.S. electric grid and left behind computer programs that would let them disrupt service, exposing potentially catastrophic vulnerabilities in key pieces of national infrastructure, a former U.S. government official said Wednesday.

The intrusions were discovered after electric companies gave the government permission to audit their systems, the ex-official said.

I already chimed in on this, four years ago, but I guess it needs to be repeated:

DON’T CONNECT VITAL SERVICES LIKE ELECTRIC SUPPLY TO THE INTERNET.

Really, how hard is it to not link something to the Web? Cordone off those networks that have no good reason to be accessible by the World Wide Wild West. Nuclear weapons systems are (I hope) exempt from ties to the worldwide network. I see no reason why the basic underpinnings that allow modern society to function should be any different.