US Cyber Pandemic Playbook: How A Cybersecurity Attack Would Cripple America And Send The People Into Chaos, And Justify More War

"Cybercriminals could cripple the US by targeting just 10 critical components in an electrical network, experts have revealed."

The following report was first published on August 13th, 2024, on winepressnews.com

The WinePress has been warning for years that a debilitating cyberattack and grid-down scenario is likely in the cards, and has printed a number of reminders to readers to be acutely aware of this strong possibility, and none other than World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab has warned that a “cyber pandemic” would make the Covid-19 pandemonium look mild in comparison.

Not that long ago the world experienced some ‘hiccups,’ shall we call them, when a failed cybersecurity update courtesy of Cloudstrike failed and destroyed tons of devices and computers, and completely disrupted some commerce, market trading and banking, travel and telecommunications, emergency services, and much more, in what was the largest IT outage ever in history.

SEE: Largest IT Outage In History Leads To Mass Disruptions, Banks Unable To Transact, Flights Delayed, Emergency Services Down And More

And that was just an accident, so we are told. What and if should another concert of errors occurs, or God forbid if it is deliberate?

Recently, The Daily Mail explained in an exclusive post what would happen if an even larger attack or outage on the grid system occurred. Here is what they wrote (excerpts):

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Cybercriminals could cripple the US by targeting just 10 critical components in an electrical network, experts have revealed.

The attack would begin with “a series of cascading failures,” first shutting down essential service providers, like 911 call centers and healthcare providers, and then spreading to critical infrastructure. Americans would lose access to energy, water, financial services, public transportation and cell phone networks, resulting in severe ramifications.

Morgan Wright, a former senior advisor in antiterrorism at the U.S. State Department, told DailyMail.com that “civil unrest” and a ‘breakdown in the social order” would soon follow.

Eric O’Neill, a former FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence operative, told DailyMail.com that foreign spies have spent over a decade looking for security holes in infrastructure to leverage for conducting catastrophic cyber attacks.

“They have already found ways to disrupt America’s fuel, power, water, communications, and education systems as they look to exploit our reliance on these essential resources,” he continued.

An attack of this kind would have dire consequences for U.S. citizens, such as even killing Americans on their soil, warned Nicholas Reese, a cyber expert and adjunct instructor at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University.

He explained that a cyberattack on 911 call centers would deprive patients of urgent medical care. Meanwhile, hospitals would see a disruption in intensive care units and operating rooms, causing medical equipment to falter and patient deaths.

“Deliberate large-scale attacks on critical infrastructure would not be executed with the goal of inconvenience,” Reese said. “They would be executed to cause domestic turmoil as a means of power projection.”

Describing an attack on this scale as a “significant act of aggression” against America, Reese suggested it would require a serious response from the government. That could mean the nation is dragged into a military conflict with the perpetrator.

Cybercriminals are aware that taking control of essential resources, like energy and water, would be the way to cripple the nation, the experts said.

This was experienced in 2021 when a hacker group known as DarkSide shut down the Colonial Pipeline that supplies oil to much of the US East Coast. The five-day disruption caused localized shortages of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel, which led to panic-buying as consumers feared gas would run out.

“We saw a microcosm of how citizens would respond during the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack,” explained Wright. “There was a run on gasoline because of a ‘perceived’ shortage of energy, not an actual one. The unrest only took hours to swell because of social media and incorrect reports of what actually happened.”

In light of the Colonial Pipeline chaos, O’Neill believes that a cyberattack on U.S. power supplies would have a similar ripple effect for all Americans.

“Without power, citizens would lose communications, air-conditioning, heat, water when we turn the tap and lights when we flick the switch,” he said. “Business would grind to a halt, finances would be unavailable and hospitals would be unable to provide care, and so much more.”

To conduct such an attack, O’Neill said the perpetrator would likely target the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) networks, which help manage industrial equipment because they are easy targets due to insufficient cybersecurity and outdated software.

“The orchestrated attack would require numerous, synchronized attacks against different components of the power grid,” he explained. “But with our networked economy and supply chain, taking down just one major section of the US power grid would throw the country into chaos.”

A final element could be physical attacks on American power transmission and switching stations, added O’Neill. “Attackers would only need to target nine or ten key nodes within the United States to potentially collapse the grid,” he said.

While a deliberate cyber attack launched by an enemy state or cyber-criminal group could hinder national infrastructure, an accidental IT outage or system failure would be just as damaging.

These types of outages show how a “lack of resilience” and ‘over-reliance on single sources of technology and software” can disrupt essential industries and the lives of many, explained Wright. “Despite all of the preparedness and threat mitigation, it was an unintentional action that highlighted the weakness in all critical sectors,” he said.

Despite the grave nature of these threats, some believe that the US government isn’t taking them seriously enough.

“The government could certainly do more to prepare the United States for a catastrophic attack, plan for and assess the response to such an attack, and prepare ahead of the attack by hardening our critical infrastructure,” said O’Neill.

When asked how the security of U.S. national infrastructure can be strengthened, O’Neill said more investment and collaboration between the federal government, state officials, and industry are essential steps.

Lawmakers should also compel critical infrastructure companies and agencies to follow strict cybersecurity standards and zero-trust approaches to authenticate outside parties’ identities before granting them access to their computer networks and resources, added O’Neill.

“Grants and funding can be applied by the government for the investment,” he continued. “Key transmission points and power stations must be hardened and made resilient to attack.”

As these threats increase in scale and complexity, O’Neill said a nationwide effort is needed to ensure critical services and infrastructure are resilient enough to “operate under pressure.”

“When a hospital is attacked, it must be able to function without the Internet. Water utilities should be manually manageable when operations centers come under attack,” he concluded. “Power grids should be more redundant and less reliant on aged transmission paths and models. Everything from schools to grocery stores should have backup systems and the ability to disconnect from online portals and third-party applications to continue services.”

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

In the wake of the US/Israel-Iran War, an Amazon datacenter in the region was destroyed. On one hand, I see that as an overall net positive. On the other hand, it highlights the risks that critical infrastructure can be hit and therefore completely turn people’s worlds upside down.

I’ve spoken about the issue of cyberattacks and EMPs before, and how important this issue is. Check them out:

Are You Prepared For When The Grid Goes Down And Supply Chains Collapse?

Hack Attack: Trump Reportedly Turning To Private Firms To Launch Offensive Cyber Attacks Against 'Foreign Adversaries'

Predictive Programming: The Telegraph Warns Russia, China And North Korea Will Launch Cyberattack To Drain Bank Accounts Of Money

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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