Trump bans acquisition of foreign power grid equipment, citing hacking threats

Posted on May 6, 2020

Trump bans acquisition of foreign power grid equipment, citing hacking threats

President Donald Trump signed today an executive order barring US power grid entities from buying and installing electrical equipment that has been manufactured outside the US. Besides barring power grid operators from buying and installing new foreign equipment, the order also authorizes the Secretary of Energy to start procedures to identify current electrical equipment manufactured outside the US and develop strategies with government agencies and the private sector to have it isolated, monitored, and eventually replaced in the future. The US Department of Energy welcomed the new executive order.

Despite President Trump citing hacking threats as a primary reason for signing the new order, the US has not seen any destructive attacks from foreign hackers until now.

Source: zdnet.com