The Washington Post failed to contact the utility company that reported malware in one laptop ahead of publishing its report that a U.S. electric grid in Vermont was breached by Russian hackers, The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald reports, putting the story at odds with what originally happened.
Mike Kanarick, spokesman for Burlington Electric Department, said in a statement to the Burlington Free Press: "We acted quickly to scan all computers in our system for the malware signature. We detected the malware in a single Burlington Electric Department laptop not connected to our organization’s grid systems. We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding."
The Post article said the hacking showed holes in the U.S. electrical grid security and included harsh statements from Vermont lawmakers, including governor Peter Shumlin.
"Vermonters and all Americans should be both alarmed and outraged that one of the world's leading thugs, Vladimir Putin, has been attempting to hack our electric grid, which we rely upon to support our quality of life, economy, health, and safety," he told The Post.
The Post on Saturday added an editor's note to reflect the mistake.
"An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Russian hackers had penetrated the U.S. electric grid. Authorities say there is no indication of that so far. The computer at Burlington Electric that was hacked was not attached to the grid," it read.
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