Posted on 12/19/2014 6:50:56 AM PST by Biggirl
On Thursday’s Hugh Hewitt radio show, conservative commentator Mark Steyn, author of “The Undocumented Mark Steyn,” said the actions by Sony Corporation not to face down apparent threats from North Koreans was a bad sign for the so-called power of American pop culture in its current state.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
We have met the cheese-eating surrender-monkey, and it is us.
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 national 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. Sabotaging the spinal cord/nervous system renders the muscles (our power grid) useless.
It my understanding that in many cases our grids are managed by antique 1980s 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 Stuxnet 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. You could even 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 tens of millions of 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. There will be many other dire consequences: people freezing in winter for example, but the lack of food deliveries and distribution will bite first and hardest.
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.
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 ASAP. Anybody who says “That can’t be done, our grid can only be operated by computers today,” is admitting that we are screwed.
best to keep a large chunk of cash handy and live in the sticks,burn wood kill bambi and Mr Turk,if one can
trav
Real eye opener
I do think that the NK leadership takes its orders from Bejing.
everybody is harping on SONY.my question is whether any of youse would have done differently faced with a real threat of violence?
I find it immensely funny that George Clooney is so distraught at the horrible, horrible invasion of his world.
Pathetic, has been actor, who has amassed a good bit of money, but is largely irrelevant in stardom now.
Click the pic to the full-text Free Republic thread.
But really, are the threats from NK for real or just simply “empty” threats?
I don’t blame Sony.
If Sony distributes this movie, knowing that there is a threat to kill those who see it, Sony takes on the role of an over serving bartender. If the movie is in theaters, and there is an attack, there will be scores of lawyers lining up to sue Sony.
This is a no win for Sony, but not releasing the movie allows them to stay in business.
We may be receiving nothing more than a cover story, designed to placate the masses.
Along with the Sony hack, the Norks might be sending little messages to our govt, demonstrating their control of our infrastructure. “Stop that film, or be prepared for the coldest and hungriest winter in American history.”
It might be that the Obama admin ordered Sony to pull it for national security reasons.
Do the Norks have terror groups though?
It is an isolated country you know.
Well, a tit-for-tat escalation might mean our power goes out in the dead of winter. I’m not joking.
I’m guessing that the Norks can protect their primitive grid better than we can protect ours. And the NK govt won’t care if the power goes out in 80% of their country.
We can’t take the pain that NK can take in a cyber-war. Our cities will EXPLODE in less than 2 weeks without power/food/water/heat.
put it this way. you own a business that relies upon the public to come in and patronize. you receive a bomb threat.
what do you think would happen if you blew it off, then a real bomb went off in your place full of customers...not only would you lose the business, but the families of the victims would rightfully sue you out of existence for ignoring a threat.
so you lose everything you ever had, and a lot of people get hurt/killed and why? so you could prove a point?
remember the three stooges episode where Moe was willing to fight to the last drop of Shemp’s blood?
I honestly don’t care one bit about Sony. They got hacked because they didn’t care enough to hire the best.
Certainly not going to put self or our country on the line about this.
Freedom of speech? Sony can choose for itself and we as a country can choose for ourselves.
But Sony isn’t our country. It is a corporation and a multinational. Let Japan worry about this.
North Korea is isolated. They talk a good game nothing more.
maybe we are, but would you take your family to a place that is under threat? few would, and sony would lose anyway. this way they can show something else that might make money.
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