A new government-backed study has found the nation’s mostly privately run electric utilities have failed to properly safeguard their equipment from computer-based attacks. In a new report, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation says so-called cyber-attackers retain the potential to disrupt “multiple assets at once, and from a distance.” The warning came as the Wall Street Journal reported “cyberspies” have penetrated the US electrical grid and left potentially disruptive software programs behind. According to current and former national security officials, spies from China, Russia and other countries have infiltrated the electronic networks that control the nation’s utilities. Officials don’t see an immediate threat but warn the infiltrations could prove dangerous if the US ever goes to war.