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A cyberattack could wreak destruction comparable to a nuclear weapon
People around the world may be worried about nuclear tensions rising, but I think they're missing the fact that a major cyberattack could be just as damaging—and hackers are already laying the groundwork.
With the U.S. and Russia pulling out of a key nuclear weapons pact—and beginning to develop new nuclear weapons—plus Iran tensions and North Korea again test-launching missiles, the global threat to civilization is high. Some fear a new nuclear arms race.
That threat is serious—but another could be as serious, and is less visible to the public. So far, most of the well-known hacking incidents, even those with foreign government backing, have done little more than steal data. Unfortunately, there are signs that hackers have placed malicious software inside U.S. power and water systems, where it's lying in wait, ready to be triggered. The U.S. military has also reportedly penetrated the computers that control Russian electrical systems.
As someone who studies cybersecurity and information warfare, I'm concerned that a cyberattack with widespread impact, an intrusion in one area that spreads to others or a combination of lots of smaller attacks, could cause significant damage, including mass injury and death rivaling the death toll of a nuclear weapon.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday August 21 2019, @03:28PM (4 children)
<no-sarcasm>
If power is out for two weeks, civilization will go back to the stone ages. Mass die offs.
No power. No cars. No fuel for cars. No power to pump fuel at stations. No more fuel deliveries. Grocery stores and Hardware stores all picked clean.
No vehicles for police or power company crews.
The thin veneer of civility in our supposed 'civilization' will come off. Things will get very ugly. Mass riots, looting. Stealing and hoarding what little pre-packaged food remains. No fire trucks. No more water pumped into your local water tower to keep the taps flowing and toilets flushing.
Who cares if the power goes off for a couple weeks?
</no-sarcasm>
Therefore it is imperative that all of our critical infrastructure, including but especially our electrical grid and generating plants be connected to the internet ASAP! And upgrade to Windows 98 SE for security reasons.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Thursday August 22 2019, @04:08AM (3 children)
Puerto Rico had no power for a long time after Hurricane Maria, but I never heard about riots and civil unrest. They are certainly not back to the Stone Ages, and excess mortality was maybe 0.1 %, hardly mass die-offs. People are not the animals you think they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 22 2019, @09:37AM
And Hurricane Sandy in 2013, for example. My parents' house in Ohio didn't have power for a week or two. They're not even on the East Coast, which took a direct hit from the storm.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Thursday August 22 2019, @10:27AM
Exactly. There were people in the rest of the world not afflicted by the same storm, and they organized mass food delivery. It's one of the advantages of a global civilization. But it the afflicted area is large enough, such support will not be sufficiently well resourced.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday August 22 2019, @01:56PM
The people of Puerto Rico have probably not assimilated to be afraid of anyone who is slightly different.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.