NSA Chief: We Must Start Preparing for the Inevitable Loss of our Power Grid

[Billrube]

http://www.truthandaction.org/nsa-chief-must-start-preparing-inevitable-loss-power-grid/

Part of the text:

NSA Chief: We Must Start Preparing for the Inevitable Loss of our Power Grid

What would happen under the circumstances of a cyberattack targeted towards America? Would people go Mad Max crazy? In Ted Koppel’s book “Lights Out” he explains that if the power grid were to go down due to cyberattack, it would go down for not only days, but for weeks or even months resulting in millions of people dying due to mass starvation.

Recently, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Admiral Michael Rogers warned listeners at a cyber-security conference that the threat isn’t a matter of “if“ it will happen, but “when.“

He used the example in which hackers in Ukraine used the Black Energy cyber-weapon to knock out the lights on more than 200,000 people across the region.

While speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, he warned the audience that this will not be the “last we are going to see of this.“

Read more on page two to find out what NSA Director Rogers thinks is the best plan in order to stop any cyberattacks from occurring in the U.S.

[Omega]

1 hour ago, Billrube said:

http://www.truthandaction.org/nsa-chief-must-start-preparing-inevitable-loss-power-grid/

Part of the text:

NSA Chief: We Must Start Preparing for the Inevitable Loss of our Power Grid

What would happen under the circumstances of a cyberattack targeted towards America? Would people go Mad Max crazy? In Ted Koppel’s book “Lights Out” he explains that if the power grid were to go down due to cyberattack, it would go down for not only days, but for weeks or even months resulting in millions of people dying due to mass starvation.

Recently, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Admiral Michael Rogers warned listeners at a cyber-security conference that the threat isn’t a matter of “if“ it will happen, but “when.“

He used the example in which hackers in Ukraine used the Black Energy cyber-weapon to knock out the lights on more than 200,000 people across the region.

While speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, he warned the audience that this will not be the “last we are going to see of this.“

Read more on page two to find out what NSA Director Rogers thinks is the best plan in order to stop any cyberattacks from occurring in the U.S.

Meh, scare tactics.  We once used some trailer mounted generators to run what amounted to a midsize town and had plenty left over.  I bet that with as many generators out there the issue would not be as bad as everyone thinks.  Will there be problems, yes I am sure there will be, but an all out Mad Max scenario probably not.  We have been getting the same scare tactics about solar flares for years.

[Billrube]

1 hour ago, Omega said:

Meh, scare tactics.  We once used some trailer mounted generators to run what amounted to a midsize town and had plenty left over.  I bet that with as many generators out there the issue would not be as bad as everyone thinks.  Will there be problems, yes I am sure there will be, but an all out Mad Max scenario probably not.  We have been getting the same scare tactics about solar flares for years.

It may not be the end of the world as we know it but I spent 35+ years in the deep south; certain parts of our collective citizenry is on government assistance. There are probably similar numbers in Memphis and Jackson for sure. In the event that we were lose power even for a little bit those individuals that get their money and food on the government debit cards will likely get sideways. 

Case in point: Atlanta, Georgia: Clayton county had a 'glitch' that resulted in no EBT deposits or Medicaid. This is footage from the local news channel, edited to not show the people beating on the windows and screaming at the employees. It was a couple day delay and people were about to riot. Let the power grid drop for a week in large cities and look out. 

 

[Randall53]

When the grid goes everything goes. fuel for cars and generators, natural gas, lights, water, food, sewer, medicine. It will be bad. The lack of air conditioning will kill a lot if it happens in summer with all this global warming happening ya know....

Edited July 18, 2017 by Randall53

[nightrunner]

The power grid being down for more that a couple days would be truly devastating to the country. And that's if we didn't have any rioting and everyone acted peaceful and civil. Everyone is dependent on both power and each other. 

Just think, how long could you survive with no more electrical power right now? Everything runs on electrical power.

The transformers that power our grid are custom made to order and take 6 months or more to build. We would be severely crippled.

I wholeheartedly agree that we need to harden our grid and infrastructure and have multiple redundancies built in. Nobody thought a commercial airliner would reshape the NYC skyline. Until it happened.

[Omega]

You know, I'm ok with losing some of those teat suckers in the vid; maybe it is a good thing to be rid of that portion of the population. If you are able bodied and so dependent on the Government to feed you then you deserve to starve.  Electricity is nice and all, but I can do without it, specially if I have no choice.  Human kind did just fine without it for centuries, so a period without it would be survivable.  Only a few of those that succumb because of it will be missed, and soon after the grid returns they will be replaced. 

[Grand Torino]

22 hours ago, Billrube said:

It may not be the end of the world as we know it but I spent 35+ years in the deep south; certain parts of our collective citizenry is on government assistance. There are probably similar numbers in Memphis and Jackson for sure. In the event that we were lose power even for a little bit those individuals that get their money and food on the government debit cards will likely get sideways. 

Case in point: Atlanta, Georgia: Clayton county had a 'glitch' that resulted in no EBT deposits or Medicaid. This is footage from the local news channel, edited to not show the people beating on the windows and screaming at the employees. It was a couple day delay and people were about to riot. Let the power grid drop for a week in large cities and look out. 

These are the dirtbags we will have to fight off. When I lived in Tucson we had a lightning strike one one of the main transformers. I don't remember all the details but it had to be custom made and took 4-5 days to get it up and running. And that's with the parts shipped out from someplace else in the country. If the grid goes down good luck with that.

 

[Ronald_55]

Crap just think of the riots when they realize WiFi is down 

[leroy]

I'm calling BS on the power gird thing... This is nothin but more windbaggery and a hopeful attempt to make the populus more afraid of a "nameless, faceless, them" by a jackass that is on the public dole in the bureaucracy... The two most likely candidates for this sort of thing are China and Russia... They are trading partners... If we have this kind of problem, how long do ya think it would take even the yahoos peddlin this baloney to find the out....?  My guess is about 30 minutes on a slow day....

I can buy the idea that north korea, iran, and some of the middle east yahoos might want ta do this... If they could have, the would have...?  What keeps em frrom doin it...?  Fear of retaliation and Providence...  

The "power grid" thing is just like "the astroid hittin the earth thing"... More hopeful attempts to conjure up a dooms day scenerio to make you, the citizen, more compliant, fearful, and ever dependent upon the superior intellect of the "washington insider bureaucratic class"... 

leroy the "anti BS curmudgeon" and foe of the bureaucracy...

[Ugly]

It's probably good that some of us are closer to primates then others

many people will lose their minds. They won't get to primate status, they'll get stuck in medievil times.

It has to be a real risk due to our modern govs inability to see things right in front of their face and focusing on the land of make believe. 

Plus there is a possibility the overlords could shut it down intentionally or of course for the sake of climate change. 

[Ronald_55]

I fully believe that electricity is a luxury. It can be lived without. There are things that are harder and take a lot longer to do, but they still can be done if they need to be done.

It would take a bit for us to revert back to simpler times. If it was the power grid being down versus a EMP, we would still have a time when we had fuel for tractors and trucks and things such as that. That would help ease the transition.

I grew up with electricity, but no central hvac. We used wood to heat. Going back to it would not be a huge deal for me.

[bersaguy]

Taking down the entire grid would be an astronomical feat to be able to do by any country other than this one IMO. If all grids went down at once it would be done by our own Government. There is more than 1 major grid and a foreign country may get one down at best before they could be stopped. We all know that the east coast where most of the population is will be the target with DC included. Places like the Pentagon and White House and most Government buildings have their own power sources that do not depend on the Public Grids so they will continue to function................JMHO

 

[Wingshooter]

I think it is extremely unlikely that we'll ever see the grid go down across the whole country. I'm sure it's possible but very unlikely. I think it's much more likely that we could see a localized grid failure. However, if it's a serious crash especially in a high density area, I think the results could be felt across the country. There would be an immediate elevation in security, awareness and possibly panic in areas not even directly affected. Especially since EMP and grid failure has been talk up so much lately.

There would be "refugees" from the damaged area and responders mobilizing to get power restored. There would be looting and rioting in the "dark zone", and resources across the country would be utilized to get things restored. Gas prices would skyrocket, the economy might crash as people across the nation pull out cash, grocery stores might get overwhelmed as people fear their next, and there would be government restrictions imposed.

The degree to which the entire country is affected by a localized grid failure would depend on the severity, region affected, duration of outage, cause (terorism, etc.), media hype, government reaction and public perception. So, I don't think the whole nation will be put in the dark, but the whole nation could go off balance due to a regional outage.

[Omega]

All you have to do is study what happened after hurricane Andrew and Katrina to get an idea of what would happen locally.  Or the earthquakes, tsunamis etc, etc that have devastated some parts  of the world, eventually things right themselves. 

[bersaguy]

I did some reading about the power grid system across the country and it was mentioned many times that the power grids are really old and need to be updated which will cost up into the bilions of dollars to do. I think it might be that the Feds are looking at trying to figure out a way to raise the money necessary to begin to update the grid system. I am guessing that if it comes to Trumps Wall or the Infrastructure of fixing the grids that wall will take a back seat, especially if there is a grid problem.

As far as what would happen if there was a grid failure, I hate to think about the riots and damage that will be done depending on what section of the country is affected but it won't be a good situation where ever it might happen............jmho

[leroy]

The "Old, decrepit grid" problem is a "Red Herring"... The transmission lines are in good shape that intertie between utilities and with local utilities that distribute power to you, the consumer...

Some of them are, indeed, "old" but the towers are very well built and maintained... I worked for a time on this stuff... The lattice line towers are old designs, but are quite serviceable... About the only thing that goes bad on them is the insulators, that are replaced as needed... The company i worked for measured their line outage time in minutes/year, and ive sat in several award dinners where that time was less than 10 minutes/ year...

The breakers, transformers, and switchgear; as well as the control systems are maintained scrupulously... That's why your lights are hardly ever off...

If the lights are off; nine times out of ten, it's the local utilities problem... That is generally due to a bad storm, an accident that knocks a pole down, or  lightnin strike on a transformer...

It's more obfuscation and hopeful pandering for dollars to pass out to the brothrs n sister crooks... When you pay your utility bill, you are, in fact, payin for infrastructure upgrades... 

leroy... The "anti-bureaucrat" and "lie detector" curmudgeon...

Edited July 20, 2017 by leroy

[A.J. Holst]

Saw a recent statement regarding data breach, 25% are a result of a targeted attack. 75% are caused by the human element, clicking on that unknown link.

Might not get access to the critical controls, but what about hvac? Dead of summer, max out that nuclear powered heat in the control room?

The city of Alcoa guy remotely reads my meter, it's not too far a stretch to assume a hacker could remotely turn off my subdivision.

Self driving cars now, T-800s tomorrow.

Leroy, did you hide my tinfoil hat, can't seem to find it.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Gotthegoods

[Murgatroy]

I think some folks are oversimplifying the impact. Some bored script kiddy that us tired of crashing PSN and XBoxlive might find it funny to crash the grid.

Sure, I am not dependant on welfare. But if the food in my fridge spoils, I can't go to Kroger and buy more milk with my debit card, tied to a bank full of money.

When my stockpile of water is gone, I can't go to Costco and buy another pallet. With my debit card...

I can't use my fuel card to get gas, to go to work. I can't work as there is no electricity to power my tools.

I can't pay my mortgage, because I can't work.

I can't pay my mortgage because I can't access my bank to make an EFT.

I can't use my phone.

None of this at all involves me sucking on anyone's teat.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[bersaguy]

2 hours ago, Murgatroy said:

I think some folks are oversimplifying the impact. Some bored script kiddy that us tired of crashing PSN and XBoxlive might find it funny to crash the grid.

Sure, I am not dependant on welfare. But if the food in my fridge spoils, I can't go to Kroger and buy more milk with my debit card, tied to a bank full of money.

When my stockpile of water is gone, I can't go to Costco and buy another pallet. With my debit card...

I can't use my fuel card to get gas, to go to work. I can't work as there is no electricity to power my tools.

I can't pay my mortgage, because I can't work.

I can't pay my mortgage because I can't access my bank to make an EFT.

I can't use my phone.

None of this at all involves me sucking on anyone's teat.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 

That is why I keep a small amount of cash locked in one of my safes in case debit and credit cards become useless. and I have Dry Milk for emergencies. Just add water. Cash will buy more water. It is exactly why I have designed my life to not depend solely on Bank Cards but insert some cash into the equation. Also it is wise to have some things that will work in a barter situation when cards and cash won't work.................jmho

[Ronald_55]

15 minutes ago, bersaguy said:

That is why I keep a small amount of cash locked in one of my safes in case debit and credit cards become useless. and I have Dry Milk for emergencies. Just add water. Cash will buy more water. It is exactly why I have designed my life to not depend solely on Bank Cards but insert some cash into the equation. Also it is wise to have some things that will work in a barter situation when cards and cash won't work.................jmho

If all else fails you could trade bullets with someone. You know just the lead, not the case and powder.....

Edited July 21, 2017 by Ronald_55

[bersaguy]

4 minutes ago, Ronald_55 said:

If all else fails you could trade bullets with someone. You know just the lead, not the case and powder.....

I would only barter with them that way if someone came to my home un-invited with less than friendly notions or intentions and then they would only get White Hot Bullets in the barter......................

[leroy]

"The Grid" is an inter-tie of transmission lines that various utilities operate... The total power system of the US and Canada is also called "The Grid"... Each utility has specific "inter-tie" points where systems are close to each other so that one utility can supply surplus power to utilities that may need it... The various utilities that make up "The Grid" can operate autonomously within their specific territories, and they often do in temperate weather when all the systems have enough capacity to meet their specific need for the individual power system... The only way to bring down "The Grid" is to identify and sabotage those specific inter-ties, then shut down each regional utilities generating units... That aint the stuff that some brat playin an xbox game can do in his mommies basement... Even if ya could, each system could be back up in a matter of minutes to hours by switching to local control... These power "Grids" have been operating since the early 1900's... They all have redundant operating systems... Lotsa things operated very well before computer control...

lectric leroy...

[Wingshooter]

I did a brief google search because I was curious if an EMP has ever been experienced. Seems Hawaii did during the Cold War. Starfish Prime was the name of the nuke test carried out by the US when we detonated a nuke in space over the South Pacific. Sounds like it wouldn't take much to wreak havoc if some terrorist group or rouge nation gets lucky with a nuke in space. Things weren't nearly as electrical/computerized then as they are now either.

 

Quote

In Hawaii, the effects were almost immediate: streetlights blew out, circuit breakers tripped, telephone service crashed, aircraft radios malfunctioned, burglar alarms sounded, and garage door openers mysteriously activated.

http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/the-first-time-the-us-tested-an-emp-weapon-was-a-doozy

 

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/07/09/the-50th-anniversary-of-starfish-prime-the-nuke-that-shook-the-world/#.WXFLY7EpChA

 

[nightrunner]

4 hours ago, Murgatroy said:

I think some folks are oversimplifying the impact. Some bored script kiddy that us tired of crashing PSN and XBoxlive might find it funny to crash the grid.

Sure, I am not dependant on welfare. But if the food in my fridge spoils, I can't go to Kroger and buy more milk with my debit card, tied to a bank full of money.

When my stockpile of water is gone, I can't go to Costco and buy another pallet. With my debit card...

I can't use my fuel card to get gas, to go to work. I can't work as there is no electricity to power my tools.

I can't pay my mortgage, because I can't work.

I can't pay my mortgage because I can't access my bank to make an EFT.

I can't use my phone.

None of this at all involves me sucking on anyone's teat.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 

Exactly. I don't rely on the government and never have and never will. I can survive Mad Max/TEOTWAWKI. But society can't. A civilized world can't. You can't give everyone all the luxuries and conveniences we have now then take it away and expect everything to be ok. The general population is soft. Expecting them to harden up through trial by fire won't work.

[Murgatroy]

That aint the stuff that some brat playin an xbox game can do in his mommies basement...

You underestimate what these bored kids can do. They are the same ones that provide Wikileaks hacked emails, were responsible for "The Fappening" and write new ransomware daily. Think darkly enough and they hacked Clinton's email, and rigged the election.

Hiding your head in the sand and saying some bored kids can't to that is being very naive. My daughter is eleven and can hack game code to rewrite games.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk