Trump huddles with national security staff on how to protect the electric grid
President Trump met with his top national security advisers on Wednesday, along with energy industry leaders and top confidants, to discuss the cybersecurity threats facing the nation’s electric grid.
Trump met with long-time head of the National Security Agency, General Keith Alexander, homeland security adviser Thomas Bossert, former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani, and “energy sector leaders” to discuss “energy sector resilience and cybersecurity,” industry parlance for how to guard against hackers looking to take down the grid, according to a statement from the White House.
“President Trump thanked the participants in the meeting for their efforts and underscored the importance of a continuing public and private partnership to effectively combat threats against the energy sector, particularly the power grid,” the White House statement read.
The Energy Department is using a public-private group created during the Obama administration to keep the communication channels open between the utility industry and government if there is a serious threat of attack to the grid. The partnership had been on high alert during the 2015 attack on Ukraine’s power grid, which was significantly crippled by a cyberattack, and left tens of thousands without power for several hours.
