There are malign cyber actors capable of shutting down the U.S. power grid or parts of it, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said this weekend, calling for increased public-private cooperation in fending off cyberattacks. “I think that there are very malign actors who are trying,” Secretary Granholm said on CNN and NBC on Sunday. “Even as we speak, there are thousands of attacks on all aspects of the energy sector and the private sector generally,” she added. When asked if American adversaries have the capability now of shutting down the U.S. power grid, Secretary Granholm said: “Yes, they do.” “Everyone needs to wake up and up their game in terms of protecting themselves, but also telling the federal government if they are target of attacks,” she told NBC . Secretary Granholm also said that companies paying ransomware only exacerbates the cyberattack problem, and no one should be paying […]