So yesterday, I talked about rising seas threatening the Internet. But I guess there’s no rest for the weary. Because the threat I talk to you about today could be apocalyptic. Could foreign hackers create an EMP?
For almost a year, cyber experts and government officials warn about hackers pulling off the ultimate attack. They would hit all IT support and electric grids. It would also hit other computer systems as well. But the worst thing about it? They could create an EMP attack behind their own desk and from their computer. What would an EMP do? We’ll get to that later.
If this concerns experts, then it should concern us. Listen to Drogos cyber security workers. In one interview, they talk about how hackers compromised Ukraine’s power grid. From their computer, hackers could turn lights on and off. This was between 2015-16. But sense then, they said the hackers got more aggressive. Then there is National Intelligence director Dan Coats. He testified to Congress that the US is under attack. He believes that it’s not just foreign nations like Russia, China and Iran that have cyber weapons and are willing to use them. But he testified terrorist, criminals, radical political extremist, and anybody with a grudge can do damage with cyber weapons.
What is an EMP? Back in 1859, the US had the Carrington Event. A solar flare came down and burned telegraph wires. That is what an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) would do to us…if we had 1850s technology. Today, if somebody created an EMP, it would shut down all computer systems, all electric grids, and all communications. Not only that, but all of our food, clean water, transportation, everything we take for granted would be gone. It would take months, maybe even a year to get all the systems back on track. Some say that if this were to happen, then most of the American population would be dead. I know this sounds like a horror movie plot, but this is a real threat we in computer repair need to address. Could foreign hackers create an EMP? What do we do?