US Seized Chinese-Built Transformer

The lab, which is operated by Honeywell International, handles contract work for the US Energy Department associated with threats to national security, the report added.

A US representative of the company, Jim Cai, told the newspaper that it had sold more than 7000 such transformers in the past two decades to numerous international customers.

Cai was unaware of what had happened to the transformer until he was asked for comment by the WSJ.

US President Donald Trump on 1 May signed an executive order for the DoE to find and ban devices from the power grid made by foreign countries that were considered a threat to national security.

A report in Politico said Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette had recently played down concerns from industry that new clean energy projects could be inconvenienced by the order.

The language in the order is said to be so all-encompassing and covering nearly 20 types of gear that developers fear they may have to delay projects, anticipating that components ordered from abroad could be banned.

The seized transformer was meant for the Western Area Power Administration for use in its Ault substation. Apart from WAPA, the Chinese firm has also sold units to American customers the New York Power Authority, EDF Renewables, B.C. Hydro and MidAmerican Energy.

The report said WAPA fed wholesale electricity to power stations in 15 states in the western and central US.

Transformers do not contain software-based control systems and are passive devices, though recent equipment may contain diagnostic electronics, the WSJ said.

That item about “ diagnostic electronics” caught my eye, too, and I had the same reaction as you.

How hard would it be to send intel to China regarding power flows? That would be incredibly valuable information for an enemy. Worse, could an outside command take the transformer offline or cause it to self-destruct?

Does anyone remember Broadband over Power Lines? BPL

It was supposed to be the easy way to deliver broadband nationwide.

What if the Chicoms are using the transformers as means of sending data through power lines?

Or maybe our gov’t sends data over power lines and Chicoms are trying to tap into it.

Transformers do not contain software-based control systems and are passive devices, though recent equipment may contain diagnostic electronics, the WSJ said.
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This is important because Sandia does some of the most sensitive work that the government does and as an advanced engineering science laboratory is probably the premier place for any such investigations to be done.

How many lines of code to take to take down a transformer - or hand control to a Chinese satellite? Is this a serious threat?

These things take years to build... we don't build any in the US... Does China build them all? Thanks...

“How many lines of code to take to take down a transformer”

No code needed. ASIC chips or an FPGA chip can easily be embedded in a circuit with little detection. A simple network sniffer that looks for a key code can do the trick with only a few extra circuits. These backdoor circuits were found in many chips coming from China in defense contracted projects.

https://globalsmt.net/raytheon-partners-with-ironnet-cybersecurity/

from link:

John DeSimone, vice president of cybersecurity and special missions, Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, said: ‘Protecting critical infrastructure is no longer a private sector concern, but a national security imperative.

‘We know malicious actors seek to disrupt global economies through attacks on technology systems that keep our lights on, food supplies safe and militaries prepared.

ASIC chips or an FPGA chip can easily be embedded in a circuit with little detection. A simple network sniffer that looks for a key code can do the trick with only a few extra circuits. These backdoor circuits were found in many chips coming from China in defense contracted projects.

So, we could have the equivalent of an EMP attack without the 125 miles above the US nuke explosion? Under those circumstances we wouldn't be sure if the grid going down was an act of war - or a 'accident'?

Since transformers take years to build - and one area going down can trip other areas into going down to protect equipment - does this mean we're screwed? Or do you think we've created systems to get around this type of attack?

Thanks for sharing and explaining...

Our grid is extremely vulnerable infrastructure. Possibly the weakest point in our nation given that there are very few spares for the largest transformers and equipment on hand and they are manufactured in China with a long delivery time. We don’t even have many of the smaller transformers on hand.

There are many of us who have said this for years.

I suppose a deliberate attack by a nefarious state actor is one possibility. Others talk about EMP attacks.

However, the earth has a history of massive solar storms that can seriously upset the grid as well (a natural disaster of sorts). Imagine if one of these happened and knocked out much of the grid around the world. Who would have first dibs on the critical equipment that would need to be replaced to restore widespread electrical service?

It would be the same people who claimed first dibs on PPE, first dibs on medication, etc etc.

This is a very real threat. Imagine 2-4 months without electrical power. It would be catastrophic - especially in densely populated urban centers. We should manufacture these here in the US and we should keep spares on hand and harden others when possible.

Just my .02

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