Authors: Bobby Akart
There should be no doubt as to who handles an organization’s response to a possible cyberwar or other security challenges. Although cybersecurity programs are typically executed by a Chief Information Officer, the entire leadership team must be committed to cyber preparedness. Beyond enhancing resiliency, this type of preparation will build a mindset that is better able to recognize current and future security risks, navigate the threat landscape in pursuit of business opportunities, and allocate security resources more efficiently.
Planning for a cyber war should include knowing how a potential adversary looks at an organization. The identity of enemies, the type of intrusion they might undertake, and the hacker tools they might use are all factors to consider. A thorough internal assessment will determine how an organization conducts business with an eye towards potential cyber vulnerabilities.
Another key element is understanding whether an organization has a secure internal business network. Many times, corporate assets—and corresponding vulnerabilities—are part of a global network. Supply chains, service providers and strategic partners, employees, and customers are all dependent upon one another and an attack on any one of these interconnected entities could negatively impact the entire business.
Every private sector business, regardless of size, should remain informed, aware, and secure. Most organizations will be best prepared for the contingency of cyber war by focusing on the following:
Protect those assets that are most valuable to the organization, and desirable by the cyber intruders;
Implement a cyber security plan that will not only protect a business in the event of cyber war but put it ahead of the pack in the global marketplace afterward; and
Study the activities of policymakers and cyber security experts to keep up-to-date on threats.
Chapter Nineteen
It’s Time to Get Ready for the Coming Cyber War
First, let's summarize the scope of the problem. We've known for years that America's infrastructure isn't as robust as it should be.
During the Northeast blackout of 2003, for example, a large portion of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, together with some of Canada was blacked out as a result of a minor software bug at a FirstEnergy electrical station in Ohio. This event, combined with out-of-date hardware across the nation’s power grid and lax security, could easily result in an opportunity for hackers to take down critical infrastructure across the country.
The FBI recently caught three Russian operatives attempting to trigger a
Flash Crash
in the United States stock market like the one that occurred in 2010. During that event, massive computer networks—trading at millisecond speeds—over-corrected and dropped the Dow Jones Industrial Average 1,000 points in just minutes.
Hackers don't have to attack Wall Street directly. One cyber attack, like the one that recently involved incorrect information posted on Twitter, can cause major panic in the financial markets. In 2013, the Syrian Electronic Army hacked the Associated Press Twitter account and tweeted that there had been an explosion at the White House and President Obama was injured. This caused panic trading that created a temporary loss of around $136.5 billion in the S&P.
In 2014, Ransomware hackers knocked an unidentified radio station in Louisiana off the air. The radio station, which had a firewall in place, was running an older version of Windows XP on its computers. In this case, the hacker’s goal was extortion or ransom. But in the event of a terrorist activity, this could be a method to disrupt critical communications networks. Despite the hacker’s goal, it's still evidence that hackers are capable of just about anything.
If cyber terrorists didn't attack electronically, they might cut Internet cables manually. This happened in San Francisco recently which resulted in an Internet outage after vandals broke into a secure vault and cut an important Internet backbone cable.
In 2015, the Department of Defense accidentally released an 800-page document on the Aurora Project. It was a detailed analysis of how hackers could take down the U.S. power grid and water systems. It wasn't very comforting as it detailed potentially catastrophic loss of life.
Recent cyber attacks reveal it isn't only the power grid that is vulnerable. The U.S. air traffic control system is getting a major upgrade, and it brings with it some problems that a hacker can exploit. This may have been the reason for the attack upon the United Airlines' computer system which grounded 4,900 flights and delayed travel across the country.
At the same time, another
computer glitch
shut down the New York Stock Exchange for four hours and brought trading to a standstill. Clearly, hackers are busy trying to cause other problems.
This book has been replete with the various ways hackers could launch a cyber attack that causes major disruption. However, there are two more unexpected cyber tools available to hackers that you might not have considered.
Our enemies test our defenses every second of every day. As has been stated repeatedly in this book by experts across the spectrum
; it’s not a matter of if a cyber attack will be successful in collapsing our power grid; it’s a matter of when.
Chapter Twenty
We Are All Preppers Now
The threats we face are many. At FreedomPreppers.com, Americans are urged to prepare for a worst-case scenario. If nothing happens, you’ve lost nothing. For the United States, short of nuclear annihilation, the worst case scenario is an extended grid down scenario.
The way you protect yourself isn't very high-tech. In fact, you're going to be better off going low-tech.
Where do you begin in formulating a Preparedness Plan? An entire preparedness guide, hundreds of pages long, may still not adequately cover the elements of a comprehensive preparedness plan. The numerous disaster preparedness guides, blogs, and professional videos are all excellent resources. But where does one start?
Essentially, it all boils down to:
Beans, Band-Aids & Bullets
Well, of course there is much more to developing a preparedness plan than the
big three
, but all preparedness experts know these are the basics. Many preppers are well organized and rely heavily upon checklists. We urge you to review Appendix B which provides a summary as well as a link to a free pdf download of an extensive preparedness checklist. Preppers constantly update their checklists to insure they didn’t overlook anything. You will as well.
As you review the following, keep in mind certain basic principles when preparing your plan.
The survival rule of threes:
You can only live three minutes without air; three hours without shelter in extreme conditions; three days without water; and three weeks without food. This helps you prioritize your preps for a post collapse survival situation.
The prepper rule of redundancy
: Three is two, two is one, and one is none. When your prepper supplies run out, you can’t drive down to Wal-Mart and restock.
Building your prepper supplies to an acceptable level for long term survival requires baby steps. Thus, survival planning starts with the perfect trinity of prepping—
beans, band-aids and bullets
. Clearly, an oversimplification of what a preparedness plan entails, but it is a pretty good reflection of what you better have covered. This is a well known expression within the prepper community as it outlines the essentials that you will need in the event of TEOTWAWKI—the end of the world as we know it.
In summary,
beans
will include your prepper supplies, the items in your prepper pantry and water.
Band-aids
will refer to all things medical.
Bullets
represent the weapons and ammunition necessary to protect yourself, your family and your preps.
Beans – Your Prepper Pantry
What is in your prepper pantry? Right now, honest assessment. How many days could your family survive on what's in your house right now? Most American households have less than seven days of food on hand.
Building a prepper pantry is one of those lifelines that take both time and planning to make it fully functional. Ideally, you want to store shelf stable foods that your family normally consumes, as well as find foods that serve multiple purposes. Stocking your prepper pantry should involve a combination of ready to eat food and beverages to last your family many months plus long term food storage for a year or more.
Overall, your prepper pantry should reflect an abundance of the foods that you eat on a regular basis. Utilize a first in, first out rotation. This is a mistake many new preppers make. They buy food they don't eat on a regular basis. Store foods that have a long shelf life, that don't require refrigeration after opening, and that are easy to cook off the grid.
Our suggested preparedness plan includes non-perishable foods on our shelves to last us one year. Then we have canned vegetables, fruit, and meats created throughout the year. Finally, dried goods such as beans, rice, pasta, and oatmeal are stored utilizing Mylar Bags and desicant packs (this technique is discussed in depth on the Freedom Preppers website) which can last for up to twenty years.
The following foods are all popular food staples that should be considered as “must haves” for your Prepper Pantry. The advantages to storing these items are they encompass all of the key consideration points listed above. Best of all, these items are very affordable and versatile, thus making them worthy of being on your storage shelves for extended emergencies. You'll find most of these items in your pantry already. Try to increase the quantity each week and place them into rotation. Use this list as a starting point on beginning or extending your Prepper Pantry. Always keep your family’s food preferences and dietary needs in mind when investing in your food supply. This list is very basic, but a good start. The checklist in Appendix B is helpful as well.
·
Dried legumes such as beans, lentils, and peas
·
Rice, lots of rice
·
Pasta and sauces
·
Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, and cereals
·
Canned meat, fish, soups, fruits, and vegetables
·
Peanut Butter
·
Packaged Meals (macaroni and cheese, hamburger helper, Ramen noodles
·
Seasonings and cooking oils
·
Flour, salt, sugar, corn meal, and powdered cheeses
·
Powdered drinks like milk, Tang and Gatorade; Tea Bags
Here are some additional considerations.
Food - If you would like to start storing food there are some things to think about. How long will the food last? Is this something that you and your family will realistically eat? Will the food survive if there is a disaster and no electricity? How will you cook the food you have stored? The amount of food stored ultimately depends on the person that is storing it. But, keep in mind that you need to have enough food for the amount of time a foreseen disaster will last. If you are just preparing for a short term disaster then maybe only a few days to a week of food is necessary. If your preparations need to last after a massive break down of society or a major disaster, you may want to have a few months to multiple years of food stockpiled. Also you may want to raise your own livestock and have a fruit and vegetable garden. Hunting and Fishing are also a great way to get food. Just a note, all grocery stores combined in one city usually only have about 3 days’ worth of food for the entire city. This is known as
just-in-time inventory
, and will be gone within hours when a collapse event becomes apparent.
Heirloom Seeds – While technically not food, yet, the ability to grow your own food will be critical to sustain yourself after your food supplies run out. Besides, before the SHTF,
growing your own food is like printing your own money
. And, it’s good practice.
Water – FEMA claims that each adult needs one gallon of water per person per day. This is wholly inadequate. While this quantity may keep you hydrated, it will not be sufficient to maintain your location. When there is no water coming out of the sink where will you find fresh, clean water? You may want to keep water stockpiled as well. There are a couple options for this.
The basic principles revolve around
water catchment, purification, and storage
. Again, water management is a subject for an entire book. But consider this. In third world countries, dysentery is one of the major causes of death. In a grid down scenario caused by a cyber attack, or otherwise, America will be set back into the nineteenth century from a technology standpoint. Drinking unclean water can kill you.
There are options. You can keep water bottles or gallon containers full. There are also water tanks that come in various sizes anywhere from under a hundred gallons up to thousands of gallons. If you are lucky enough to be near a river or lake, this may be a good source of water. There are many types and sizes of water filters that don’t need electricity and make even the worst water safe to drink. There are also tablets that can be placed in water to purify it. A well would also be a fantastic water source, but can be quite pricey to build. Ultimately, there are many options, but it is a good idea to know about the natural water sources in your area.