Privacy and technology

From ‘Prime target: the energy grid’:

“The problem is that the very thing that makes the grid smart—the ability of myriad embedded systems to communicate with each other, often using a combination of legacy and proprietary equipment alongside more modern solutions—has created a duality where communications over serial, wired and wireless Ethernet, cellular, and dial-up modems being used with a combination of common TCP/IP and proprietary protocols. This has expanded the attack surface, making it vulnerable to cyberthreats. Open systems invite hacking. More malware was detected on computer networks in 2011 than in all previous years combined, with critical infrastructure being a prime target.”

(Source: security.nl)