Electric Grid Security

This morning's hearing is to examine the status of actions taken by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or FERC, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation or NERC, and the States to protect the electric grid from computer attacks on their facilities and control systems. We read every day of newly discovered attacks or threats on computer systems in this country and around the world. According to the Director of National Intelligence, there's been a dramatic increase in the frequency of malicious cyber activity, targeting U.S. computers and networks, including a more than tripling of the volume of malicious software, since 2009. So, the threat is real, and it is serious.