Sleepless in Security: Sensor-y Overload

On the afternoon of September 13, just after 4 PM, 9-1-1 emergency response lines lit up in three communities north of Boston. Seemingly out of nowhere, residents in the towns of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover flooded 9-1-1 operators to report a strong gas odor, homes on fire and even strong explosions in their homes and neighborhoods.  

In a matter of minutes, chaos erupted as dozens of structures burst into flames over a 2 square mile area, overwhelming the local fire response. In all, 131 structures were damaged by gas leaks and fires. Five homes were destroyed in natural gas explosions and 28 people were hospitalized. One man died, when a chimney from a burning building collapsed on the parked car he was sitting in.

Cyberattack? Thankfully, no. A preliminary analysis by the National Transportation Safety Board, released in October, pointed to human error by a work crew hired by Columbia Gas – the local provider. Specifically: a crew replacing a cast iron natural gas distribution main in South Lawrence disconnected a pressure sensor designed to monitor gas pressure in the distribution main, but forgot to disable the sensor first. The disconnected sensor, monitoring gas pressure in a disconnected section of gas main, prompted system regulators to open, pushing high pressure gas into a low-pressure distribution system that served the affected neighborhoods. The result was a deadly conflagration that has left scores of residents homeless for months.

I bring up the Lawrence gas explosions of 2018 not because (Read more...)