Major blackout in Brazil and Paraguay. Could hackers be involved?

[lovinglinux]

Power was just re-established in my town, after 5 hours of blackout. Now it's 3:30 am here.

There is some recent US media reports about hackers being the cause of previous Brazilian blackouts. Coincidence? FUD? I personally think the problem is a crappy infrastructure. This year in particular has been very painful in regard to power outages in my city. At least they serve to report that ext4 file system is coping very well, without any data loss on my side.


From: Blackouts darken Brazil's 2 largest cities (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091111/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_brazil_blackouts)

A massive power failure blacked out Brazil's two largest cities and other parts of Latin America's biggest nation for more than two hours late Tuesday, leaving millions of people in the dark after a huge hydroelectric dam suddenly went offline. All of neighboring Paraguay also lost power, but for only about 20 minutes...

...

The blackouts came three days after CBS's "60 Minutes" news program reported that several past Brazilian power outages were caused by hackers. Brazilian officials had played down the report before the latest outages, and Lobao did not mention it.

More articles:

The New York Times: Power Begins to Return After Blackout in Brazil (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/10/world/AP-LT-Brazil-Blackouts.html?_r=1)
CNN: Dam failure triggers huge blackout in Brazil (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/10/brazil.blackout/index.html)
The Inquirer: Power restored after Brazil blackout -- officials, witnesses (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20091111-235558/Massive-Brazil-blackout-triggers-crime-alert)
MSNBC: Blackouts darken Brazil’s 2 largest cities (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33844757/ns/world_news-americas)
G1: After blackout in parts of ten Brazilian states, power back slowly (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fg1.globo.com%2FNoticias%2 FBrasil%2F0%2C%2CMUL1374243-5598%2C00-APOS%2BAPAGAO%2BEM%2BPARTES%2BDE%2BDEZ%2BESTADOS%2 BBRASILEIROS%2BENERGIA%2BVOLTA%2BAOS%2BPOUCOS.html&sl=pt&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8)
G1: Internet users are seeking more information about national blackout on Twitter (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fg1.globo.com%2FNoticias%2 FBrasil%2F0%2C%2CMUL1374252-5598%2C00.html&sl=pt&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8)

Related articles:

Wired: Brazilian Blackout Traced to Sooty Insulators, Not Hackers (http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/brazil_blackout/)

Best comment on Twitter:


Em Itaipu, falaram pro estagiario: quando sair desliga tudo

Translation: "They told a trainee at Itaipu: turn off everything on the way out"

[Frak]

Why these things are connected to the internet of all things I'll never know.

[FLMKane]

Doesn't the brazilian government use Linux?

[Frak]

Doesn't the brazilian government use Linux?
Pardon my interest, but why is that relevant.

[Exodist]

/MAJOR RANT!!!

HACKERS ARE NOT CRACKERS!


Re: Major blackout in Brazil and Paraguay. Could CRACKERS be involved?

FIXED



Please watch less Hollywood!

[3rdalbum]

I have no idea why those systems need to be connected to the Internet in the first place. What's most amazing is that the possibility of remote attack through the Internet has been mentioned on the news and current affairs programs dozens of times in every country, but nobody in charge of these utilities decides to make the thing safer by removing its internet-connectivity.

[Frak]

I have no idea why those systems need to be connected to the Internet in the first place.

This.

Every reason I hear is because of remote connectivity to manage the systems, but then I always ask why, then, they don't build their own large intranet structure to control these things. Their answer is "The internet is cost effective".

/facepalm

[Exodist]

I have no idea why those systems need to be connected to the Internet in the first place. What's most amazing is that the possibility of remote attack through the Internet has been mentioned on the news and current affairs programs dozens of times in every country, but nobody in charge of these utilities decides to make the thing safer by removing its internet-connectivity.

+1

Simply keeping them off a commercial network fixes the issue.

[amitabhishek]

Very unlikely, unless its a Bruce Willis movie.

[Frak]

Very unlikely, unless its a Bruce Willis movie.
If I'm not mistaken, Brazil has had this more than once in the past. So, yes, we are in one big Bruce Willis movie.

[Keyper7]

Unlikely.

There are much more lousy infrastructures than talented crackers in Brazil.

(and, by the way, the number of talented crackers is not small)

[lovinglinux]

/MAJOR RANT!!!

HACKERS ARE NOT CRACKERS!

Please watch less Hollywood!

Whatever. Crackers are good with cream cheese.


From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker

Hacker (computing) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(computing)), a contentious term used for several types of person:
Hacker (computer security) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(computer_security)) or cracker, who accesses a computer system by circumventing its security system
Hacker (programmer subculture) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(programmer_subculture)), who shares an anti-authoritarian approach to software development now associated with with the free software movement
Hacker (hobbyist) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(programmer_subculture)), who makes innovative customizations or combinations of retail electronic and computer equipment

Now wait until someone rants about Wikipedia not being a reliable source of information...

[lovinglinux]

Why these things are connected to the internet of all things I'll never know.

Wired: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/brazil_blackout/


Brazilian government officials disputed the report over the weekend, and Raphael Mandarino Jr., director of the Homeland Security Information and Communication Directorate, told the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that he’s investigated the claims and found no evidence of hacker attacks, adding that Brazil’s electric control systems are not directly connected to the internet.

If it's not connected to the Internet, why does he need to investigate? ;)

[Dimitriid]

Step 1: Man creates internet
Step 2: Man connect major infrastructure to the net
Step 3: Man creates artificial Intelligence
Step 4: Skynet

Seriously, thats like a military base that happens to have a sewer connecting to the public sewer system next to the city: you would think such stupid security flaws would only be found in movies and videogames....

[LookTJ]

/MAJOR RANT!!!

HACKERS ARE NOT CRACKERS!



FIXED



Please watch less Hollywood!
Crackers are hackers. they fit into what we call a "black hat" hacker label.

[3rdalbum]

This.

Every reason I hear is because of remote connectivity to manage the systems, but then I always ask why, then, they don't build their own large intranet structure to control these things. Their answer is "The internet is cost effective".

/facepalm

Silly me, I thought there would actually be humans at this vitally-important power station. You know, humans, those beings that can quickly respond to problems BEFORE they cause a billion dollars worth of damage to the Brazilian economy!

[Exodist]

Crackers are hackers. they fit into what we call a "black hat" hacker label.

And this is why the word "Hacker" is looked so down upon. So many kids and media miss use this term.

http://dragis.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/picard-facepalm.jpg

[irohaphoto]

right hackers are not crackers. I am a hacker but hackers are inconsiderate stupid people who just waste time.

[JeffersonX]

I don't think so... Here in Brazil it is raining a lot in some regions including the location where Itaipu is in. Probably it was the cause...

[lovinglinux]

I don't think so... Here in Brazil it is raining a lot in some regions including the location where Itaipu is in. Probably it was the cause...

The weather issue has been discarded as culprit this morning. They are considering now that the transmission system could have been overloaded.

[mikewhatever]

Lovinglinux, how did you and others deal with the situation? Do you guys have flashlight and candles stocked for such occasions? Do people have generators at home?

[Glucklich]

Em Itaipu, falaram pro estagiario: quando sair desliga tudo.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL.

Beautiful photo of the Copacabana's blackout on the New York Times. I wonder if the photographer has released it with a bigger resolution.

[t0p]

The weather issue has been discarded as culprit this morning. They are considering now that the transmission system could have been overloaded.

No no no! You mustn't blame the infrastructure. That just leads to demands that the infrastructure is improved, which costs money.

Instead you must blame it on some indefinite, shadowy group of people like "those pesky/evil hackers". This leads to a call for tougher laws and increased spending on law and order.

We can't let an incident like this blackout go by without making it into another reason why the internet must come under strict governmental control. I vote for dictatorship! And the removal of brains from all children of school age. That'll fix 'em!

[lovinglinux]

Lovinglinux, how did you and others deal with the situation? Do you guys have flashlight and candles stocked for such occasions? Do people have generators at home?

I don't have a generator, but I always keep a flashlight in my desk. There were some employees of the power supply company on my street this week, cutting trees. They finally realized that it would be better to prevent the power outages instead of fixing them. But tonight was a completely different thing. I thought it was just a regular localized problem, until I called the power supply company at 2:30 am and received a message saying there wasn't a prediction when the service would be restored, although they were working on it. The I realized it was something big. They always give a prediction, even knowing it's not a reliable one. Nevertheless, I couldn't imagine a nationwide blackout.

[Tibuda]

Lovinglinux, how did you and others deal with the situation? Do you guys have flashlight and candles stocked for such occasions? Do people have generators at home?

This don't happen very often in urban areas. The yesterday blackout happened only during the night, so I have just started to sleep sooner instead of watch TV.

[lovinglinux]

This don't happen very often in urban areas. The yesterday blackout happened only during the night, so I have just started to sleep sooner instead of watch TV.

Well, I live on the "suburbs" and my street has lots of trees. When there are storms, which are very frequent in the summer, the trees cause all sorts of problems to the electrical lines. Last time there was huge storm here a couple of months ago, some energy poles went down. The power supply was restored only after 28 hours. It was a nightmare, but a very localized one.

Anyway, citywide, statewide or nationwide blackouts are not common, although there is always the fear of them. The last time we had one of those was in 2007.

[hobo14]

/MAJOR RANT!!!

HACKERS ARE NOT CRACKERS!

And crackers are not hackers. Crackers crack software copy protection/CD checks/other restrictions: games, apps, etc.

Nothing else; everyone else is a hacker.

You are ranting about people using a definition of "hacker" that you don't agree with, and at the same time you're incorrectly using a definition of "cracker" that crackers most certainly do not agree with.

If you don't like the term "hacker" including someone who breaks into systems, come up with a new term, don't try to retrospectively push it onto "cracker"

(But I really dislike the fact that "hacker" is always used with a negative connotation too)

[t0p]

And crackers are not hackers. Crackers crack software copy protection/CD checks/other restrictions: games, apps, etc.

Nothing else; everyone else is a hacker.

You are ranting about people using a definition of "hacker" that you don't agree with, and at the same time you're incorrectly using a definition of "cracker" that crackers most certainly do not agree with.

If you don't like the term "hacker" including someone who breaks into systems, come up with a new term, don't try to retrospectively push it onto "cracker"

(But I really dislike the fact that "hacker" is always used with a negative connotation too)

I also dislike the fact that the term "hackers" is used to describe naughty people who do naughty things with their naughty computers. But that's what the word means nowadays. It's happened. And worse: although the other uses of the word still exist, most people now think "hacker" means "naughty computer user". Fact.

As for the "hacker/cracker" debate, I agree with Emmanuel Goldstein. He thinks that the correct term to describe such a person is "criminal".

[hobo14]

As for the "hacker/cracker" debate, I agree with Emmanuel Goldstein. He thinks that the correct term to describe such a person is "criminal".

I see no room for debate.
"Cracker" is a well defined, narrow term (and misunderstood by Exodist).
"Hacker" is much broader in definition, and like you say, usually misused (with respect to it's original meaning).

[Ric_NYC]

Agreement by Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina
An important diplomatic settlement was reached with the signing of the Acordo Tripartite by Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, on October 19, 1979. This agreement established the allowed river levels and how much they could change as a result of the various hydroelectrical undertakings in the watershed that was shared by the three countries. At that time, the three countries were ruled by military dictatorships. Argentina was concerned that, in the event of a conflict, Brazil could open the floodgates, raising the water level in de la Plata River and consequently flood the capital city of Buenos Aires.
(Wikipedia)

[Giant Speck]

And this is why the word "Hacker" is looked so down upon. So many kids and media miss use this term.

I wouldn't talk about misusing words if I couldn't even spell the word misuse correctly.

[Ric_NYC]

"Wonder of the Modern World"

http://www.asce.org/history/seven_wonders.cfm


In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers elected the Itaipu Dam as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. In 1995, the American magazine Popular Mechanics published the results.


http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/5274/itaipudc3a9cembre2007vu.jpg

Large pic
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Itaipu_Décembre_2007_-_Vue_Générale.jpg

[Keyper7]

I wouldn't talk about misusing words if I couldn't even spell the word misuse correctly.

Low blow. Spelling and semantics are different issues.

[Giant Speck]

Low blow. Spelling and semantics are different issues.

I'm not sure I really care.

[Sporkman]

/MAJOR RANT!!!

HACKERS ARE NOT CRACKERS!



FIXED



Please watch less Hollywood!


Sorry, but language & lingo changes. They are now called "hackers".

"Cracker" is a derogatory term for a poor white US southerner.

[Keyper7]

Lovinglinux, how did you and others deal with the situation? Do you guys have flashlight and candles stocked for such occasions? Do people have generators at home?

When it happens at night, like it did yesterday, I usually simply go to sleep. But the thing is, I live on a 19th floor and I can easily see when a blackout is happening only on the close surroundings or in a bigger "uh... this looks serious" radius. Yesterday was clearly a "HOLY #$%$" radius, so I was more curious than sleepy. I stayed awake for a while with my cell phone as a flash light and listening to the news on an mp3 player that also works as a radio.

[pwnst*r]

/MAJOR RANT!!!

HACKERS ARE NOT CRACKERS!



FIXED



Please watch less Hollywood!

not necessarily.

black hat hacker fits fine here too

[Keyper7]

I'm not sure I really care.

Allow me to clarify it for you then: you replied, so you do.

[Giant Speck]

Allow me to clarify it for you then: you replied, so you do.

Allow me to clarify, as well: I'm not sure I care that what I said was a low blow. I was not addressing the second part of your post.

[hobo14]

Sorry, but language & lingo changes. They are now called "hackers".


They never were "crackers".



not necessarily.

Not at all.

[gletob]

Minc confirmed that the blackout, which started at 10:15 p.m. local time Tuesday (0015 GMT Wednesday) and lasted more than four hours in some regions, was not caused by any flaw in energy generation. It was due to a problem in three transmission lines which distribute the electricity produced by Itaipu hydroelectric station on the border with Paraguay, he said.
The three lines are located in the southern state of Parana and the southeastern state of Sao Paulo.
"There was no shortage of energy," he said. "There was an accident in some point which has not been detected yet."


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