Cybersecurity
Flipping Wrong Switch and Not Hackers Caused Outage in Taiwan
- Report finds poor communication to blame for power failure
- Key semiconductor hub suffered regional blackouts last week
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Flawed design and poor communication -- including an operator’s decision to flip a switch marked “Do Not Operate” -- were the main causes of an island-wide power outage in Taiwan last week, according to a government investigation.
A failure at the Hsinta coal-fired power plant in Kaohsiung last Thursday led to blackouts across multiple regions, including the capital Taipei and parts of the chip-making hub of Hsinchu.