Bryan Logan

Russian hackers breached a Vermont electrical utility, The Washington Post reported on Friday. Investigators found malicious code associated with the hackers during an analysis of Russia's cyberattacks against Democratic Party organizations.

That code was apparently discovered on a laptop at the Burlington Electric Department in Vermont, the Burlington Free Press wrote on Friday. The code was apparently not used to disrupt operations at the Vermont utility, and officials there said the laptop in question is not associated with the operation of the electrical grid.

"The grid is not in danger," Vermont Public Service Commissioner Christopher Recchia told the Burlington Free Press. "The utility flagged it, saw it, notified appropriate parties and isolated that one laptop with that malware on it." Officials interviewed by The Post said it is not clear how hackers may have intended to execute the malware, if at all.

One of the biggest threats with breaches of utility sites is the potential to disrupt the US electrical grid en masse. Such an attack could have a devastating effect on emergency services nationwide.

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By Paul Astih -

Beirut – Contrary to the status quo that prevailed in Lebanon by the end of 2015, the situation today in the Mediterranean country looks significantly more positive, especially following the election of a new Lebanese president in October and the formation of a unity government that has restored life to the different state institutions. Nonetheless, the new government, led by Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, has a major challenge, represented in the adoption of an electoral law that would gain the approval of the different Lebanese factions.

In this regard, sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that there has been an overwhelming agreement over the need to put behind the 1960 electoral law, which was used in the last parliamentary elections in 2009. Based on the majority system, the electoral law, which was adopted in 1960, divides the country into 24 electoral districts. However, Lebanese politicians are currently studying the adoption of a modern electoral law that provides an appropriate representation of the different Lebanese factions.

While Hezbollah and other political factions are insisting on a law that would be solely based on the proportional system, other parties, including the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party, back the adoption of a proportional system in some regions and the majority system in others.