I’ve been thinking about this a lot also, particularly about our power grid.
I think that we need to thank Sony and North Korea. Sony unintentionally goaded NK into revealing a lot of its cards, (assuming it was primarily NK). If not for this flap, we would still be asleep at the switch, at least at the national level. Many have been warning about a cyber-grid attack for years, but now it’s a leading story and everybody is paying attention.
The power grid is our exposed jugular vein. Computer networks and data systems have become the spinal cord and nervous system that controls the power grid. Think of the human muscle/skeletal system. “Just” taking out the spinal cord/nervous system renders the muscles (power grid) useless.
It my understanding that in many cases our grids are managed by almost antique “legacy” programs. Once hacked, our grid-controlling programs can be spoofed or made to destroy destroy themselves. Keep in mind this can also be very subtle and hard to detect, witness the Stuxxnet Virus inserted into Iran’s “super-secure” nuclear program. Stuxnet introduced tiny almost unrecognizable wobbles into their centrifuges, so that they would be destroyed before the damage was discovered.
And you could say that we fired the first cyber strike with Stuxnet, even if it was for a worthy cause.
All developed countries are extremely vulnerable to grid disruptions. If American cities are cut off from electricity for even a few weeks, they will explode at the social level, as people who are accustomed to “automatic” money showing up on EBT cards are left with no means to pay for food. This will lead to massive looting, and a cascade to mega-riots and anarchy.
The Sony-NK flap may even be revealing the existence of a new “MAD Doctrine” at the cyber level. No nation can be sure that its computer networks and critical infrastructure are safe from attack. The next “Pearl Harbor” might be an attack on our grid. And it might go on and on for weeks, as systems are restored and are hacked again. And grid-down for weeks may be enough to destroy America as we know it.
I think it’s imperative that we not only harden our computer infrastructure, but that we strive to achieve a dispersed grid structure that will not be as susceptible to a cascading grid failure. Where possible a “manual override option” must be put in place. Imagine a jetliner that flies only on autopilot, directed only by computer controls. What happens if the computer is hacked and the plane is commanded to dive and crash? That could be America, commanded to dive and crash.
Our grid needs a “manual override” option, and we need to get this running and begin testing it NOW.
Anybody who says “That can’t be done, our grid can only be operated by computers today,” is admitting that we are screwed.
The next Pearl Harbor is going to turn out our lights. And we might not even be sure of the return address, or whom to retaliate against. Disguising the return address of a major cyber attack will be SOP.