WASHINGTON, June 2 (UPI) -- New legislation in the United States is needed to protect the nation's electrical grid from what one lawmaker said was a foreign cybersecurity threat.
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power convened a hearing to discuss whether new legislation is needed to protect the nation's electrical infrastructure from cyberattacks and other threats.
The committee said the U.S. power grid was probed recently by Russian and Chinese hackers. China denied recent claims it hacked e-mail accounts belonging to U.S. officials.
"Cyberattacks remain a top threat to our national security, particularly threats to our power sources, water supply, telecommunications systems and chemical facilities," a committee statement read.
The committee said it was considering draft legislation dubbed the Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act, or GRID Act, to enhance the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
"The GRID Act gives FERC the authority to respond to an imminent attack," said Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich. "The risk of such an attack is real, and the implications for our national security and our economy will be far-reaching if we do not act now to adequately protect the grid."
Committee members said the draft proposal was a "starting point" for discussion on the measures needed to ensure the safety and security of the U.S. power supply.
