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Blake covers security for EnergyWire in Washington, D.C., focusing on efforts to protect the oil, gas and electricity industries from cyberattacks and other threats. He writes about how hackers have applied their tools and techniques to break into -- and often break -- physical systems. His reporting has taken him to China and Israel for firsthand looks at how global powers approach cyberwarfare. Blake graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University in 2012 with a double major in journalism and Arabic. He was an intern at the Associated Press' Jerusalem bureau before joining E&E.
A new five-year plan to lock hackers out of the U.S. power grid will lean heavily on research efforts underway at national labs and utility companies, according to a Department of Energy official.
The Department of Energy unveiled plans yesterday to pump a combined $20 million into 20 energy cybersecurity projects through an array of national labs, universities and private companies.
Three years ago, the director of the National Security Agency told Congress that hackers could "shut down or stall" parts of the U.S. power grid, water and fuel systems.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry has named Michael Heyeck as the new chairman of the department's Electricity Advisory Committee.
A group of hackers code-named "Dragonfly 2.0" is darting around U.S. energy networks after years of lying dormant, according to the cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp.