In a doomsday cyber attack scenario, answers are unsettling

LA Times ^ | February 17, 2010 | Bob Drogin

[bamahead]

What if a crippling attack struck the country's digital infrastructure? Experts including current and former officials tackle the question. The results show that the peril is real and growing.

The crisis began when college basketball fans downloaded a free March Madness application to their smart phones. The app hid spyware that stole passwords, intercepted e-mails and created havoc.

Soon 60 million cellphones were dead. The Internet crashed, finance and commerce collapsed, and most of the nation's electric grid went dark. White House aides discussed putting the Army in American cities.

"We're in uncharted territory here," was the most common refrain during a three-hour simulated crisis meeting of the National Security Council, the crux of the Cyber Shockwave exercise.

...SNIP...

The public rarely gets a peek at government war games. If Tuesday's no-cliche-left-behind version at times resembled a sci-fi thriller, no one doubts that the peril to telecommunications and other crucial computer-run systems is real and growing.

...SNIP...

In the end, no grand plan emerged, but the group did agree to advise the president to federalize the National Guard, even if governors objected, and deploy the troops -- perhaps backed by the U.S. military -- to guard power lines and prevent unrest.

[bamahead]

According to the article, the panel was made up of such astute experts on cybersecurity as Joe Lockhart, and Jamie Gorelick...and the only to-do recommendation that came out of this waste of your taxpayer dollars was to federalize the National Guard.

[bamahead]

...the group did agree to advise the president to federalize the National Guard, even if governors objected...

Heard about this on the Kim Komando Show this evening.



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[bamahead]

Ping.

[Eyes Unclouded]

Are you implying that this isn’t what any person elected president in the past (and next) 30 years would do? Disaster, war, bad hair day what have you are all excellent excuses to expand the federal government’s size and power. Looking forward to an actual attack by the Chinese that causes some draconian response which doesn’t actually help things. It is okay though I already take my shoes off before I send email...

[Thunder90]

This tactical scenario does NOT go far enough. I would have included a 9/11 style attack on the Empire State Building and an exploding fuel tanker in the Port of Houston, with a Cat 5 hurricane hitting NOLA again soon after.

Also going on would have been a bioterror attack against Israel and movements by N. Korea (shelling S. Korean positions). Also present are large Iranian backed attacks on US positions in Iraq.

[bamahead]

I think the boneheads in the White House now would jump at the chance to use such a crisis to do things they normally couldn’t do.

[goodnesswins]

Just finished reading “One Second After” today.....EMF nuke....THIS panel is pissing in the wind....what a joke.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The people that should be blamed for this is the cell phone industry.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

For allowing this “hole” to happen.

[bamahead]

You mean EMP nuke? I keep hearing what a good book that is. ‘Alas Babylon’ has always been a favorite of mine...a chilling tale.

[Deo volente]

This tactical scenario does NOT go far enough. I would have included a 9/11 style attack on the Empire State Building and an exploding fuel tanker in the Port of Houston, with a Cat 5 hurricane hitting NOLA again soon after.

Also going on would have been a bioterror attack against Israel and movements by N. Korea (shelling S. Korean positions). Also present are large Iranian backed attacks on US positions in Iraq.

I think at that point, it would be time to break out the nukes from their silos.
Iran = parking lot. Same goes for North Korea and anyone else who thinks they can bring down the United States of America.

[Swiss]

**but the group did agree to advise the president to federalize the National Guard, even if governors objected**

If the phones are dead and power is out good luck mobilizing the National Guard. My unit has a hard enough time getting some people to show up for scheduled drill or contacting them through their phone numbers.

[goodnesswins]

Excellent, but scary...as it lays out just what could (would) happen.....not a pretty picture.....prepare now.

[ntmxx]

If the national security maven and cyber-security expert “Jamie Gorelick” (can you hear the God like echo) is involve, fraud and destruction is planned by the political class to cripple United States social infrastructure.

[txhurl]

Yeah, I head Kim on this the last couple days, was kinda surprised by her doom on this.

Good point about teaching all the grandmas and pas to learn to text.

[Carry_Okie]

When the history of this era is finally Written, if there is not a special place in Hell for the likes of Jamie Gorelick, we will know there is no G-d.

[DB]

I’d just let every country know up front, any cyber attack that causes major economic damage to the US gets disconnected from the Internet if it originated from their country. Any attack that can be traced back to the government of that country that results in major economic damage will be considered an act of war, just as a blockade is. Let’em suck on that.

[familyop]

"...federalize the National Guard...perhaps backed by the U.S. military"

LOL! The Guard is already an integral part of the U.S. military. ...has been for a long time.

"...to guard power lines and prevent unrest."

...sounds exciting...not.

But a "doomsday cyber attack scenario" would probably be a precursor to an EMP burst outside of atmosphere, which would be followed by nuclear weapons exchanges. So it wouldn't be all that lame.

Aaaaaaa! Aaaaaaaaa! Run for your lives! The end is near! Flying saucers! Gastro-intestinal examinations by space aliens! Aaaaa! ;-)

[familyop]

"If the phones are dead and power is out good luck mobilizing the National Guard. My unit has a hard enough time getting some people to show up for scheduled drill or contacting them through their phone numbers."

My unit for the first six years was all spit, polish and high speed. *Snap!* ...typical for combat platoons. But guarding power lines would be one ugly-boring guard mount. ...like guarding an empty quarry all night during initial training. ...more of a job for Buddhist monks or something, meditating on nothingness. ;-)

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

Who are they kidding?

The combined National Guard could not begin to guard everything.

People have no concept as to what a hopeless task this would be.

I envision the National Guard being used to protect the elite political class and to hell with the rest of America. We would be completely on our own.

The entire system would completely break down within a couple of days and it would be dog-eat-dog.