From Newsgroup: alt.politics.usa

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-01-hacking-grid-digital-sabotage-infrastructure.html

The darkness that swept over the Venezuelan capital in the
predawn hours of Jan. 3, 2026, signaled a profound shift in
the nature of modern conflict: the convergence of physical
and cyber warfare. While U.S. special operations forces
carried out the dramatic seizure of Venezuelan President
Nicol|is Maduro, a far quieter but equally devastating
offensive was taking place in the unseen digital networks
that help operate Caracas.

The blackout was not the result of bombed transmission towers
or severed power lines but rather a precise and invisible
manipulation of the industrial control systems that manage the
flow of electricity. This synchronization of traditional military
action with advanced cyber warfare represents a new chapter
in international conflict, one where lines of computer code
that manipulate critical infrastructure are among the most
potent weapons.

To understand how a nation can turn an adversary's lights out
without firing a shot, you have to look inside the controllers
that regulate modern infrastructure. They are the digital
brains responsible for opening valves, spinning turbines
and routing power.

For decades, controller devices were considered simple and
isolated. Grid modernization, however, has transformed them
into sophisticated internet-connected computers. As a
cybersecurity researcher, I track how advanced cyber forces
exploit this modernization by using digital techniques to
control the machinery's physical behavior.

. . .

Long back, the CIA seriously damaged the Iranian
uranium-refinement program by hacking the Siemens
industrial control units that regulated their
centrifuges.

Clearly such abilities are now even greater.

And what we can do, Vlad and Xi can do. They've
already proven they can get into any system.

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