Large power supplier vulnerable to ‘any knowledgeable hacker’

A federal utility powering a third of the Pacific Northwest is vulnerable to computer breaches. An Energy Department audit found the Bonneville Power...

A federal utility powering a third of the Pacific Northwest is vulnerable to computer breaches.

An Energy Department audit found the Bonneville Power Administration, which services hospitals, banks, and critical military installations accounts for 30 percent of the region’s power, according to a Nextgov report.

Before the audit, any knowledgeable hacker could have taken complete control of the utility because it used weak passwords. But computer security researchers told Nextgov the problems at Bonneville are not unusual.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.

Copyright © 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Graphic By: Derace Lauderdale/FNN

    Trump revives executive order aiming to strip some federal employees of civil service protections

    Read more
    Getty Images/Anna MoneymakerDonald Trump signs an executive order

    Trump reverses Biden-era order allowing transgender people to serve

    Read more