Energy secretary: US adversaries have the capability to shut down our power grid

By Chandelis Duster, CNN

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Sunday warned in stark terms that the US power grid is vulnerable to attacks.

Asked By CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” whether the nation’s adversaries have the capability of shutting it down, Granholm said: “Yeah, they do.”

“There are thousands of attacks on all aspects of the energy sector and the private sector generally,” she said, adding, “It’s happening all the time. This is why the private sector and the public sector have to work together.”

The secretary’s warning comes amid a rise in ransomware attacks in America’s public and private sectors in the recent weeks, creating a sense of urgency in the Biden administration on how to confront cyber vulnerabilities. The issue will take an outsized role during President Joe Biden’s first foreign trip this week, during which he is set to talk with European leaders and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland.

This is a breaking story and it will be updated.

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.