A recent study conducted by the Idaho National Laboratory for the Department of Energy reported on security vulnerabilities in the computer networks that control the electric grid. The report expressed concerns that gaps, such as a failure to install software security patches or poor password management, allow for intruders to redirect power delivery and steal data. This study is based on the findings of 24 assessments of computer-control systems performed between 2003 and 2009. It was completed in May and released July 22 on the Energy Department's website.

According to an article published in the Wall Street Journal, the report reinforces concerns that intelligence officials have raised in recent years about growing surveillance of the electric grid by Chinese and Russian cyber-spies, and the worry of a foreign country shutting down the US power system. This report also comes on the heels of the Stuxnet worm, specifically created to take over systems that control the inner workings of industrial plants. The Associated Press states that the Department of Homeland Security has begun building specialized teams that can respond quickly to cyber emergencies at industrial facilities across the country. "This type of malicious code and others we've seen recently are actually attacking the physical components, the devices that open doors, close doors, build cars and open gates," said Sean McGurk, director of control systems security for the Department of Homeland Security. "They're not just going after the ones and zeros (of a computer code), they're going after the devices that actually produce or conduct physical processes."