Don't Read Too Much Into the Vermont Hack Debacle
A botched article about an attack on the power grid was bad reporting—but it doesn't mean attributing cyberattacks is impossible.
On Friday evening, The Washington Post reported that hackers affiliated with the Russian government had penetrated the United States electric grid by attacking a utility company in Vermont. The story was originally illustrated with an image of the headquarters of a Russian spy agency, which it alleged was behind the intrusion. Then, on Monday, the walking back its allegation of Russian interference. Now, it says, the internet traffic that raised the red flag may in fact have been harmless.
