AST Digital Magazine September 2017 AST Digital Magazine September 2017 | Page 71

Volume 16
September 2017 Edition
The Department of Homeland Security defines
terrorism as any activity involving an act that is
“dangerous to human life or potentially disruptive
of critical infrastructure or key resources.”
(Image Credit: WSJ)
This attack included unauthorized entry into
manholes, cutting telecommunications fiber and
shooting through chain link fences to blow up
transformers.
Law enforcement officers arrived only a moment
later, saw nothing suspicious, could not get past
the locked fence, and left.
The attack caused leakage of 52,000 gallons
of cooling oil and disabled 17 transformers; a
blackout in portions of Silicon Valley was nar-
rowly averted through power re-routing and con-
servation.
(Learn More. Courtesy of Strategic Communications and
YouTube)
By this definition, the Metcalf attack was a
double act of terrorism.
See how Q-Guard’s 3D virtual perimeter fencing
and intrusion detection system is capable of ac-
curately detecting and tracking people, animals,
vehicles and other objects in most weather con-
ditions, regardless of ambient lighting.
In all, damages were over $15 million and the
suspects were never apprehended.
Jon Wellinghoff, then chairman of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, visited the site
afterward and brought along military experts.
They concluded that it was a planned profession-
al job, and Mr. Wellinghoff stated the attack was
“the most significant incident of domestic terror-
ism involving the grid that has ever occurred” in
the US.
(Alternative simulations of the Metcalf Attack, using Q-Guard.
Courtesy of Quanergy and YouTube)
Quanergy at a Glance
Quanergy Systems was founded in 2012 and
builds on decades of experience of its team in
the areas of optics, photonics, optoelectronics,
artificial intelligence software, and control sys-
71