Veteran newsman Ted Koppel’s new book, Lights Out:

[NorthernRaider]

From All outdoors

Veteran newsman Ted Koppel’s new book, Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath, is making waves this week because it takes the EMP/cyberattack grid down scenario firmly out of the realm of prepper blogs and into the mainstream. It’s not every day that you hear someone of Koppel’s stature talking calmly and realistically about the likelihood of a TEOTWAWKI scenario in which 90% of the US population is dead within the first year. In this tour de force of investigative reporting, Ted Koppel reveals that a major cyberattack on America’s power grid is not only possible but likely, that it would be devastating, and that the United States is shockingly unprepared. Imagine a blackout lasting not days, but weeks or months. Tens of millions of people over several states are affected. For those without access to a generator, there is no running water, no sewage, no refrigeration or light. Food and medical supplies are dwindling. Devices we rely on have gone dark. Banks no longer function, looting is widespread, and law and order are being tested as never before. It isn’t just a scenario. A well-designed attack on just one of the nation’s three electric power grids could cripple much of our infrastructure—and in the age of cyberwarfare, a laptop has become the only necessary weapon. Several nations hostile to the United States could launch such an assault at any time. In fact, as a former chief scientist of the NSA reveals, China and Russia have already penetrated the grid. And a cybersecurity advisor to President Obama believes that independent actors—from “hacktivists” to terrorists—have the capability as well. “It’s not a question of if,” says Centcom Commander General Lloyd Austin, “it’s a question of when.” And yet, as Koppel makes clear, the federal government, while well prepared for natural disasters, has no plan for the aftermath of an attack on the power grid. The current Secretary of Homeland Security suggests keeping a battery-powered radio. This is one of those things that I don’t even want to think about, but I can’t help it when I turn on the news. Look at the tensions that are building with China in over the Spratly’s; China is one of the few state actors that could pull off a total grid-down attack on the US, and God knows this is not something they’d want because it would wreck their economy and likely invite nuclear retaliation from the US. But who knows what could happen in an instant if there’s a communication breakdown and shots are fired. The time to prep for something like this is now. Don’t expect anything like a warning before the lights go off. -
http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Cyberat...nk20584-20

[Steve]

You make a good point NR, if a powerful country really believed it was being attacked it could launch cyber weaponry, which could of course be denied if it turned out to be a false alarm. Surely it would launch these before conventional military action.

[NorthernRaider]

Steve the commentary is not mine its coped from All Outdoors

[Straight Shooter]

So who wins ? who has the advantage if any ? ....any nation fronting up such action would only do so from a position of strength ..nuclear cards are final ....if your calculations are wrong....bad maths is one thing even tactical bad maths can ultimately be very final....although this Guy has some standing...he is main media at the end of the day...book sales.....rely on hype...although a very real threat i have read about this and videos on YT for years...jumping on a wagon ...with only one wheel left on it....is my view.

[Mortblanc]

If Ted Koppel said it was raining outside I would have to go to the window and check.

[bigpaul]

one thing is sure in the 21st Century, if someone can take down the power grid, dosent matter if that is a cyber attack or an EMP, you also remove the last vestiges of CIVIL from the CIVILisation.

[Sunna]

if they can do it , take down a nations power supply , ill bet the other side can do it too ,Russia , china ect.
so its a bit like nukes they have them but will never use them because the other side will use theirs.

[bigpaul]

if any hacker with a laptop can do it, you wont know where the attack comes from, could be ISIS or some Jihad sitting in a basement flat in the Edgeware Road.

[LawAbidingCitizen]

It's happening all the time apparently...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2...p-defenses

http://www.nationalgridconnecting.com/pr...-the-grid/

[NorthernRaider]

LAC You just made the case for preppers having alternate and back up plans for energy.