Contractor Charged in Grid Shutdown

By The WHIR, April 25, 2007
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April 25, 2007 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- According to reports released Tuesday, Federal authorities have charged a Unix system operator for his part in cutting off power to data center equipment at an organization that oversees California's electrical grid.

Last week, 32-year-old contract worker Lonnie Charles Denison was arrested in connection with a power outage that took place April 15 at the California Independent Systems Operator, the not-for-profit group that operates most of California's high-voltage, wholesale power grid.

He has been charged with destruction of an energy facility, and if found guilty would face a fine and as much as five years in prison.

The outage interrupted applications CAL-ISO uses in communicating with the energy market, the system of power facilities that collaborate to meet the energy demands of the western US.

According to the criminal complaint, Denison had complete access to the network until the week of April 9, at which point his access was suspended because of a dispute.

CAL-ISO's head of security, Hector Alvarez, reportedly told the FBI that on April 15 at 11:23 p.m. an emergency power off button was activated. The button was encased in glass, which would have to have been broken with a hammer by the person that activated the button.

The complaint says another contract worker saw Denison in the area of the button when it was activated, and that security access logs and video surveillance show that he accessed the facility the day of the outage at 11:15 a.m. and the area of the button at 11:23.

During the outage, CAL-ISO was out of contact with the market for two hours, creating the possibility of electrical shortages on the grid. Though no blackouts occurred because of the interruption, the agency says that if the outage had occurred in the morning, the results could have been more severe.

It reportedly took 20 technicians seven hours, and cost $14,000, to restore power.

Tags: security NEC