Ted Koppel released a new book, Lights Out. In it, he makes some good points. First, he documents the vulnerability. Yes, a cyber attack could take down the grid. So could an EMP, or even physical attacks. Second, he documents how poorly prepared we are to address the risk. Finally, he explains the catastrophic impacts a grid failure could have.
Salon, a left-leaning magazine picks up his story and repeats it as if he’s the first to draw attention to this serious problem. We are happy for the publicity and will ignore the falsehood if that is what it takes to get the Left to pay attention. Grid security is existential and non-partisan. Unfortunately, the focus with the Koppel interviews is on Cyber, seemingly downplaying the real risks of EMP and physical attack. But even discussing grid risk and its implications is valuable.
From Salon:
Ted Koppel exposes the biggest threat to national security you haven’t heard about: “The government has no plan”
Thanks to de-regulation, America’s power grids are scandalously vulnerable, the legendary Ted Koppel tells Salon
TUESDAY, OCT 27, 2015 ELIAS ISQUITH
Whether the threat is coming from abroad, across the border or, as is often the case in their fevered imaginations, both, conservatives tend to imagine themselves as America’s hyper-vigilant protectors. That’s one of the reasons why rising GOP star Sen. Tom Cotton, when he warned of a secret collaboration between the Mexican cartels and ISIS, was not laughed out of politics. (On the contrary, he coasted his way to a blowout victory.) And it’s one of the reasons why a cartoonish warmonger — or “noted death walrus,” as Jeb Lund once called him — like John Bolton is still regarded by many conservatives as a foreign policy savant.
Yet for all the GOP’s tough talk on national security, there’s one threat to national security that Republicans have barely talked about. It’s a big one, too: An attack on the nation’s power grids, which are responsible for sustaining so much of the technology that defines life as we know it. And according to the celebrated, award-winning and legendary journalist Ted Koppel’s new book, “Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath,” an attack on America’s power grids is, unlike the cooperation between ISIS and the Sinaloa, a real possibility.
Amazingly, Salon ignores the very real effort by leading conservatives to highlight this problem. Here is a partial list: Frank Gaffney, Newt Gingrich, Dr. Peter Pry, Hank Cooper, James Carafano, Michael DelRosso, Bob Hall, Judge Jeanine Pirro, Glenn Beck, just to name a few. And this is something we have covered in this blog and our books at length. Game Plan: How to Protect Yourself from the Coming Cyber-Economic Attack was published in January 2014 and covers grid security at length. All critical points covered by Koppel have been covered before such as 1) Why the grid is at risk, 2) Who threatens the grid, 3) How the grid can be attacked, and 4) What we can do about it.
Here are just a few blog posts we have written regarding the grid:
How Texas Can Secure Its Grid Against EMP Threats …
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/how-texas-can-secure-its-grid-against-em…
Apr 24, 2015 – The following is shared from Secure the Grid’s website. Kevin Freeman and Frank Gaffney testify (video provided). In addition, you can hear the …American Blackout Provides Just a Taste of The EMP Threat
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/american-blackout-provides-just-a-taste-…
Oct 28, 2013 – It portrayed a fictional accounting of how America might respond to a prolonged outage of the power grid. The reality? It’s not good. As shown in …The EMP Threat is Being Recognized…Finally
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/the-emp-threat-is-being-recognized-finall…
Jun 25, 2014 – The Secure the Grid Coalition finally appears to be making headway with some … American Blackout Provides Just a Taste of The EMP Threat.World War Three is Underway and it is Cyber-Economic
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/world-war-three-is-underway-and-it-is-c…
Feb 16, 2014 – There is even chatter about the deployment of weapons for an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the U.S. electrical grid. An EMP attack is …Quick Fixes to Counter the Existential EMP Threat by …
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/quick-fixes-to-counter-the-existential-em…
Jul 29, 2014 – Mr. Bartlett introduced legislation three congresses ago to assure that our electric power grid is hardened against EMP—and it and subsequent …The EMP Threat is Growing and We Must Prepare
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/the-emp-threat-is-growing-and-we-must-…
Aug 4, 2013 – In April we discussed the risks of an EMP attack as a form of cyber … Carrington Event, could collapse the electric grid and life-sustaining critical …Important Progress in Protecting the Grid!
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/important-progress-in-protecting-the-grid/
Dec 2, 2014 – In this blog and in our book Game Plan, we have made a strong point that the Electric Grid must be protected from EMP, cyber attacks, physical …Op-Ed: Senate should demand electric grid reliability and …
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/op-ed-senate-should-demand-electric-grid-r…
Jul 7, 2014 – In an ongoing global economic war, our power grid will be targeted whether by EMP, cyber, or physical attack. It is essential that we shore up …An EMP Attack Would Be Economic Warfare
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/an-emp-attack-would-be-economic-warfare…
Apr 24, 2013 – We are not making claim that there will be an EMP attack, but we have … The result would be that the U.S. electric power grid would be shut …We Survived the last Friday the 13th! But Can We Survive …
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/we-survived-the-last-friday-the-13th-but-…
Jun 16, 2014 – And there was the potential to knock out the power grid of whatever part … can have effects similar to an ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP) Weapon.Opportunity
globaleconomicwarfare.com/category/opportunity/
by Kevin D. Freeman on April 25, 2015. How Texas Can Secure Its Grid Against EMP Threats–Support SB 1398. by Kevin D. Freeman on April 24, 2015 …Is Iran a Threat or Not? They Say They Are and We Should …
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/is-iran-a-threat-or-not-they-say-they-are-an…
Mar 21, 2015 – Report: Iran Endorses Nuclear EMP Attack On United States … Suspected for years of plotting to dismantle the U.S. electric grid, American …Is the West Finally Waking up to Reality? Is it Too Late?
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/is-the-west-finally-waking-up-to-reality-i…
Apr 22, 2014 – When we explained the risk of EMP, few cared to listen. When […] … “They could shut down the power grid across large parts of the country.Iranian Cyber-Economic Threat (Revised)
globaleconomicwarfare.com/2014/…/iranian-cyber-economic-threat-revise…
Feb 18, 2014 – We’ve told you about Iranian efforts to develop an EMP weapon: … Iran’s Secret Weapon Threat – Global Economic Warfare. … take moves to harden their electric and energy grids from EMP attack because Washington won’t.How Could North Korea be an Economic Threat?
globaleconomicwarfare.com/…/how-could-north-korea-be-an-economic-…
Apr 10, 2014 – In combination, these (efforts to undermine the dollar, an EMP capable of destroying our electric grid, and cyber attacks) are three of the top …
Putting aside the opening error of Salon (ignoring the important contributions from many conservatives to raise awareness and address grid threats), the fact that this has reentered the public discussion from the left is a big deal and should not be ignored. To hear Coppel’s report, you might tune into this interview by Bill O’Reilly.