"Lights Out", new book by Ted Koppel anticipates cyber-attack on U.S. electrical grid

[fan_since79]

Very scary stuff. I heard an interview with him yesterday, and will be purchasing this book.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Cyberattack-Unprepared-Surviving/dp/055341996X

[Blarg]

Ted Koppel and Donald Trump share the same hairpiece.

Edited November 19, 2015 by notti

[Glen]

 

 

[fan_since79]

Homeland Security has 24 million MRE's (ready-to-eat meals) in stock for New York City for a population of 8 million. Three meals and then you're on your own.

 

If the grid goes down it could take weeks for power to be restored.

Edited November 19, 2015 by fan_since79

[Blarg]

You are way too obsessed with this.

[fan_since79]

No, just taking reasonable precautions, as I would for any emergency. Just some food supplies, water, etc.

[Homebrewer]

The electric grid goes down for a few weeks, and modern civilization goes back to the stone age.

Think about it.

Hard to believe there has been so little discussion about it.

Hard to believe there has been so little done to prevent it.

[Blarg]

You are taking 1950's bomb shelter preparations, allowing the media to prey on your paranoia. Haven't you noticed that any fear related event you are all over it with speculation? It's unhealthy.

[fan_since79]

The electric grid goes down for a few weeks, and modern civilization goes back to the stone age.

Think about it.

Hard to believe there has been so little discussion about it.

Hard to believe there has been so little done to prevent it.

 

You obsess too much, according to some here.

[fan_since79]

You are taking 1950's bomb shelter preparations, allowing the media to prey on your paranoia. Haven't you noticed that any fear related event you are all over it with speculation? It's unhealthy.

 

I have two week's supply of food and some bottled water. No bomb shelter in sight.

 

It's unhealthy to be obsessed with other people's posts.

[Blarg]

The electric grid goes down for a few weeks, and modern civilization goes back to the stone age.

Think about it.

Hard to believe there has been so little discussion about it.

Hard to believe there has been so little done to prevent it.

 

Any reasonable household has batteries for flashlight, some candles and canned goods.

 

How do you say there is so little done in prevention when you are not part of that industry?

[Blarg]

I have two week's supply of food and some bottled water. No bomb shelter in sight.

 

It's unhealthy to be obsessed with other people's posts.

 

Fan, you are always all over these fear related articles. It is as if you live for that big moment like a bombing or shooting to jump on the stories.

 

Most people make reasonable preparations for a grid outage in California because of earthquake preparedness. Some people wouldn't be prepared if you gave them an exact time and date to mark on the calendar; Armageddon in the the Valley 10am Tuesday, don't forget the matches and can opener. You are like a step from walking around with a sign saying The End is Near with some biblical track and a picture of smiling Jesus.

 

Relax, if the bad guys get a nuke your canned foods vaporize with you.

[Adam]

Buy a fishing pole. 

Edited November 19, 2015 by Adam

[Adam]

And some duct tape

[fan_since79]

ATM's won't be working if the grid goes down, so have some cash on hand in a safe place.

[yk9001]

I heard when the computers turn over to the year 2000, we are going to have a REAL problem on our hands.

[Blarg]

ATM's won't be working if the grid goes down, so have some cash on hand in a safe place.

I have a gun and neighbors that are like Nate. An Armageddon grocery store.

[RuledByNone]

The congressional report on emp has some good info:

http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf

 

 

We dodged a very large CME in 2012 by a few days.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/02may_superstorm/

 

A CME only couples energy into very large arrays so most electronics would be spared. EMPs fry everything big or small, especially anything built with mosfets or finfets. Car ecu's might survive because they are surrounded by the metal of the car but I wouldn't bet on it.

EMPs create about a 50,000 volt per meter gradient. When you have millions of volts pushing current through wires designed for low current the wires will fail. Transformers are somewhat fragile to begin with. They aren't off-the-shelf components, especially the very high voltage ones. Replacing every transformer over a large area wouldn't take weeks it would take years. Some could be imported but most would have to be manufactured.

 

Cyber attacks shouldn't even be an issue with properly air gapped control computers. The only reason grid control would ever be attached to an internet connected network is if someone wants the grid to be vulnerable.

 

These are unlikely events but people purchase insurance for unlikely events all the time. Having stores of food and water for a few months is just insurance (and cheap).

[Sully151]

Three weeks with no electricity? Sounds like a camping trip.

[HaloFan85]

Maybe if we all start chipping in now, we could get this shelter:

 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-16/what-billionaires-apocalypse-shelter-looks

[Tank]

diehard 4

 

john mcclain and that kid that did the apple commercials will take care of us.

[Blarg]

Maybe if we all start chipping in now, we could get this shelter:

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-16/what-billionaires-apocalypse-shelter-looks

Forget it, I'm not selling the summer home.

[wopphil]

The congressional report on emp has some good info:

http://www.empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf

We dodged a very large CME in 2012 by a few days.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/02may_superstorm/

A CME only couples energy into very large arrays so most electronics would be spared. EMPs fry everything big or small, especially anything built with mosfets or finfets. Car ecu's might survive because they are surrounded by the metal of the car but I wouldn't bet on it.

EMPs create about a 50,000 volt per meter gradient. When you have millions of volts pushing current through wires designed for low current the wires will fail. Transformers are somewhat fragile to begin with. They aren't off-the-shelf components, especially the very high voltage ones. Replacing every transformer over a large area wouldn't take weeks it would take years. Some could be imported but most would have to be manufactured.

Cyber attacks shouldn't even be an issue with properly air gapped control computers. The only reason grid control would ever be attached to an internet connected network is if someone wants the grid to be vulnerable.

These are unlikely events but people purchase insurance for unlikely events all the time. Having stores of food and water for a few months is just insurance (and cheap).

Is that what Don Cheadle did in Ocean's 11?

[IEAngelsfan]

Three weeks with no electricity? Sounds like a camping trip "Naked and Afraid."

 Fixed

[deepdrive]

If anything happened for three weeks, I'd have a three week vacation. I think I'll manage.