Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued an open letter to her successor last year and warned that a “massive and serious” cyber attack targeting the U.S. power grid was imminent. Such an event, said Napolitano, would have an immediate impact on everything from powering your home to grocery food deliveries.
At the very moment Napolitano made her comments, whether she knew it or not, a group of eastern European hackers believed to be working closely with Russia’s electronic spy agency had compromised upwards of 1,000 key infrastructure components around the world that included wind turbines, gas pipelines, aviation system and power plants.
According to cyber security firm Symantec these state-sponsored hackers breached industrial control systems’ equipment by first hacking the physical computers responsible for managing grid components and then forcing them to download malware that made it possible to take control of the entire system remotely.
Once in, the hacking group known to security engineers as ‘Dragonfly’ was not only able to monitor the operational status of every component on the accessed networks, but they had gained the ability to shut them down completely – with a single click of the mouse.
Over 1,000 energy firms were infected with a sophisticated cyber weapon that gave hackers access to power plant control systems, it has been revealed.
…
The software allows operators to monitor energy consumption in real time – and to cripple physical systems such as wind turbines, gas pipelines and power plants at the click of a mouse.
…
‘Among the targets of Dragonfly were energy grid operators, major electricity generation firms, petroleum pipeline operators, and energy industry industrial equipment providers,’ Symantec said.
…
‘Dragonfly initially targeted defense and aviation companies in the US and Canada before shifting its focus mainly to US and European energy firms in early 2013.’
‘Dragonfly bears the hallmarks of a state-sponsored operation, displaying a high degree of technical capability.
Symantec analysts say that the new ‘Energetic Bear’ virus is similar to Stuxnet, a malware program that was used by Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies to remotely shut down the centrifuges used to refine nuclear fuel at Iranian nuclear facilities.
But Stuxnet and Energetic Bear or not unique in how they compromise utility infrastructure networks. The Department of Homeland Security was tracking a number of viruses and trojans as early as 2011 that had similar capabilities. Though the extent of the breaches is not clear, DHS says that it is widespread:
Utilities such as water supplies and the power grid face a rising number of cyber break-ins by attackers using sophisticated attacks.
Acting DHS Deputy Undersecretary Greg Schaffer said that industries are increasingly vulnerable to hackers and foreign agents due to ‘connected’ equipment…
Earlier this month, security researchers demonstrated that it was even possible to remotely ‘open’ jail cell doors if they were controlled using ‘programmable logic controllers’ – common automated controls.
‘We are connecting equipment that has never been connected before to global networks,’ Schaffer said. Hackers and perhaps foreign governments ‘are knocking on the doors of these systems – there have been intrusions.’
According to well known security firm McAfee, the security holes in America’s ailing infrastructure are staggering. A report issued by the firm says that essential utility components like water, power and oil refineries have systems that can easily be compromised by enterprising hackers:
Certainly an outside entity could have a capability today to send many different malware messages into the grid at the same time in such a way that you could take down most of the grid, and may be all of the grid, he said.
The effects of such an attack, whether executed by a foreign enemy or rogue terrorists, would be devastating to a country like the United States which depends on a modern electrical and communications infrastructure to function.
A long-term event such as the national power outage described by Janet Napolitano could, according to one analysis recently presented before Congress, leave up to 90% of Americans dead. Without electricity America would be at a standstill:
And experts forecast if such an attack were a success, it effectively could throw the U.S. back into an age of agriculture.
“Within a year of that attack, nine out of 10 Americans would be dead, because we can’t support a population of the present size in urban centers and the like without electricity,” said Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy.
Despite warnings from private security firms and repeated intrusions by state sponsored hacking groups from Russia, Iran and China, the United States remains susceptible to a variety of different cyber attacks. Everything from military hardware systems and space agency satellites to public utility services have been attacked in recent years.
The latest attack, believed to be orchestrated by a Russian-backed hacking group, shows that not only can these teams operate for months without being detected, but that they have already breached our networks and may have installed “sleeper” viruses that are simply waiting for commands to be executed on thousands of unsuspecting networks.
Within the span of seconds and with the simple click of a mouse our entire national infrastructure could be rendered useless.
Seems way to easy to do???
Well I found a copy on bit torrent and downloaded it. Clicked the mouse and am still waiting for something to happen. It just says “waiting….Waiting…Waiting”
😀
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Prepper Tip…
How To Grow Your Own Antibacterial Bandages
Wooly Lamb’s Ear – Medicinal and Edible.
A NATURAL ANTIBACTERIAL BANDAGE
“Wooly Lamb’s Ear, botanical name Stachys byzantina, has been used for centuries as a wound dressing on battlefields. Not only do the soft, fuzzy leaves absorb blood and help it to clot more quickly, they also contain antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties. All of these factors make this plant a really great alternative to store-bought bandages.”
OTHER MEDICINAL USES:
-Wooly Lamb’s Ear actually has many medicinal uses. You can heat a few bruised leaves in a pot of simmering water, and use the cooled infusion as an eyewash to treat pink eye and sties.
-Drink a tea made from young, dried Wooly Lamb’s Ear leaves to help with fevers, diarrhea, sore mouth and throat.
-You can bruise the leaves so that the juices are released, and put them on bee stings or other insect bites to help reduce the swelling. The same effect can be seen when used for treating hemorrhoids, or for postpartum recovery.
OTHER USES:
-Being soft and super absorbent, Lamb’s Ear leaves can be used as menstrual pads
-Used in place of cotton balls.
-It can be used as toilet paper.
-It’s also edible. The young, tender leaves can be eaten fresh in a salad or steamed as greens.
http://theprepperproject.com/grow-antibacterial-bandages/
Note: I read that this plant can be invasive. So, plant it in a contained area.
It is invasive, but now I’m glad. Thanks for all the info. I’m copying it and putting it in my “First Aide” Book.
This sharing of information is what our group does so well.
Once again proves yet another reason to prepare and stock well. While an attack like this would be nothing in comparison to an EMP from the Sun, a gamma ray pulse, or a nuke, even shorter term take down has the capacity of putting a serious hurt on the countries of the world. There are few places in which most of the people prepare, and this lack of insight will mean very hungry and desperate non preppers.
It is incredible to think about this. 50 years ago many people at least had a cupboard full of food. A full pantry was important. This might not be the months or years long worth of food and supplies that the prepper/survivalist has, but it sure could last a family a couple of weeks to a month or longer. This means a huge difference between immediate panic and chaos and something delayed long enough that stability could be restored far better. Now the common jackass doesn’t even have a day’s worth of food in their home. So many total fools relay on the pizza or other delivery person to provide their meals for them.
People have to realize that the lower the number of people with at least a couple of weeks worth of food in their homes are going to riot, catch disease from drinking foul water or bad food, lack of santitation, etc. Many of these people that lack for prepping also are the ones that man the infrastructure of the country and those that will help restore the country. It is like a snowballing scenario.
The whole problem has always been NOT the disaster that might or might not be preventable. It is the shear ignorance and lack of any common sense of 99% of the population that don’t prepare well, AND probably 75% or more of the population that doesn’t even keep their home somewhat stocked like their parents, grandparents and before then did. Stupidity is the real culprit here. 🙁
Loving my solar, wind, lister deisel, fire place, two wood burning stoves, and a harvest right freez dier on the way. Don’t care anymore… well preped and have a good team that is getting better all the time….. PRAY, PLAN, PREP, FORM TEAMS.
HACKERS LISTEN!!!!! PLEASE REMOTE YOUR VIRUS TO TARGET THE BILLING AND WATTAGE USE DEPARTMENTS SO WE DO NOT GET A BILL!!! THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO GET A MONTH FOR FREE POWER!! FIRE WAY BOYS AND GIRLS!!
Just great, yet another thief.
How’s Detroit, leach?
The United States AND China have both surpassed these capabilities…makes you feel real safe, doesn’t it?
This is just more fear porn against Russia, when it will take them a while to catch up with STUXNET and FLAME…two U.S./Israeli created viruses that take over entire systems, SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED to infiltrate nuclear powered utilities and technical operating systems.
STUXNET was already used to shut down nuclear plant ops in the Middle east, and relay the data back to the DoD, via the NSA.
FLAME infiltrated foreign corporations, to steal industrial trade secrets and weapons plans, as well as copy private conversations within military and political targets abroad…
NOTHING NEW TO SEE HERE, you can go back to DWTS now…
BI, good evening, and once again, right on target. When I was a kid, the pantry in our house was ALWAYS full of food. We didn’t go out to eat except for maybe twice a month at the most and there was no such thing as food delivery when I was a kid. My pantry at home along with another spot has always been full of food. I don’t eat out a lot or depend on delivery like so many people do these days. What goes through those people’s minds when they do these things I’ll never know. Yes, stupidity is definitely a culprit along with lack of common sense. They have no idea that for the same amount they spend on eating out every week, they can go to the supermarket and stock up on certain staple foods and their food money will go much further than it would by eating out. It’s just too damned expensive these days to eat out a lot. Never any food shortage at my humble abode.
@ braveheart. What is so selfish and ridiculous about so many parents is that children LIKE a full pantry of food in the house. Even more so lots of stored up food and supplies. I don’t know one single child that would not feel more secure with a lot of food in the house. Times have changed for the absolute worst. Thankfully there are still some parents that value their children and themselves enough to make sure there is a back up of what they need. To all those other worthless parents that are raising their children to fail in face of emergency, they need a definite wake up call or to get their asses and heads out of the sand and stop imitating an ostrich.
When I was little we were very poor and in debt. My dad wouldn’t let my mother work and he made $360 per month.
On payday, the first of the month, he would go to the store and buy a month’s worth of groceries so that he made sure that, whatever else happened during the month, he would be able to feed his family.
Of course, by the end of the month, our cupboards were bare and we had some rather strange meals my mother made with the last few things left in the house.
Then my father started renting a vacant lot nearby and they planted a huge garden. My mother would can and freeze. They bought whole wheat in bulk and my mother ground it with a hand grinder to make bread. In our yard, we had two apple trees, a plum tree, and a cherry tree. In the mountains that started 1/2 mile away, there were chokecherries, pincherries, and fish.
One thing I can’t forget from my very poor childhood, was that damned canned mackerel. Mom used to get that shit and fry it in patties or use it like tuna on sandwiches. If I had a can of that, it would be the last can on the shelf—provided that I hadn’t fed it to the cat already.
I’d rather eat pigeon or crow.
@ Be Informed ~ Good post. Remember the ‘Dumpster Diving’ that people were doing? I forgot what disaster that took place for the people to do that…Was it Hurricane Sandy? I have been prepping for years now. It gives me a sense of comfort and security. Whether it is a severe, summer storm, or, a bad winter storm/blizzard, it is nice to know I can sustain myself without having to venture out into the elements for items. Prepping is a slow and steady process for me.
Btw, I read today that 140,000 people in Southern Michigan are without power after a series of severe summer storms went through.
@Be informed
Not sure if you saw this in my last post or not, but thought you should see this-
Well… like Samuel L. Jackson said in Jurassic Park-
“Hold on to your butts…”
NATO is getting involved in the Ukraine crisis. That should work out well. NOT!
Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO’s Allied Command Operations, announced Monday the United States will send troops “to help respond to Russian aggression in Ukraine,” according to McClatchy.
“It’s a very momentous time in Europe, probably the most since the end of the Cold War, especially because of the recent changes wrought by Russia,” Breedlove said from the Pentagon.
“In this operation, we will continue to demonstrate our continued commitment to the collective security of NATO and dedication to the enduring peace and stability in the region, in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine specifically,” the four star general explained.
Breedlove claims Russia has supplied separatists with anti-aircraft weaponry, tanks, personnel carriers and other heavy weapons. He said there’s “a very good likelihood” that Russian anti-aircraft artillery was used to shoot down a Ukrainian transport plane June 14.
“Russian irregular forces are very active inside eastern Ukraine,” Breedlove said. “Russian-backed forces are active inside eastern Ukraine. And Russian financing is very active inside eastern Ukraine.”
Russia has denied the accusations. “It’s all nonsense, there are no special units, special forces or instructors in the east of Ukraine,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in April.
Breedlove made his announcement hours before new violence broke out after a cease-fire expired.
“The active phase of the counterterrorism operation resumed this morning,” the chairman of Ukraine’s parliament, Oleksandr Turchynov, told legislators. “Our armed forces are hitting the bases and outposts of terrorists.”
Putin criticized the resumption of military action by the Poroshenko government in Kyiv.
“Unfortunately, President Poroshenko has resolved to resume military action,” Putin said during a Moscow meeting of Russian ambassadors. “We failed to convince him that the road to a secure, stable and inviolable peace cannot lie through war.”
Interesting that “Breedlove” is also the name of the 17 yr old the former mayor of Portland OR had an affair with.
ht tp://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/01/breedlove.html
““In this operation, we will continue to demonstrate our continued commitment to the collective security of NATO and dedication to the enduring peace and stability in the region”
Don’t make me laugh! What a crock-o-shit. NATO is the lapdog of the NWO and their agenda is to surround Russia and take them down, no matter how many innocent lives it takes.
THEM BANKSTERS INTEND TO GET PAID AND CONTROL THE WORLD, Damn it!
@ Socrates. Yes, it is coming isn’t it?
You need to get your mouse some amphetamines.
🙂
Don’t like Viruses? Put a Condom on that Mouse Clicker.
From what we’ve all been reading on the internet these days it’s safe to say that any government having control over remote access capability can do whatever they want. Our internet profiles are already being analyzed, and decisions are being made to establish contingency plans to address potential “problems”. Plan for a “non-electric” lifestyle that includes camping equipment and cooking over a fire. We may be living “in the dark” sooner than we think.
Good luck everyone.
Let’s see, that’s Janet Nepolanato leaves an open letter to her successor.
This is the same one that says veterans are the biggest threat, that the border is the most secure than it’s ever been, and least but not last forwarded by a government that can’t protect it’s people in Benghazi, lies to its citizens by habit, forces a dysfunctional health care system on us, and now this fat round pug that couldn’t figure out the uses and functions of a screwdriver is warning us of something as complex as a power grid shutdown? Really?
This government is telling a private company that they are doing something wrong? A government that can’t do something as simple as retaining EMAILS.
Warning power companies of anything is a little above their level of conception, intelligence and pay grade.
🙂
Update on the ‘Recovery’…
Unbelievable but true: 100% of U.S. job growth since 2000 went here
“The Center for Immigration Studies reports ALL EMPLOYMENT GROWTH SINCE 2000 WENT TO IMMIGRANTS.
Actually, greater than 100% of jobs went to immigrants because the number of non-immigrants holding a job is negative, and the total must equal 100%.
On a population adjusted basis, the numbers look horrific. Population-wise, native US citizens account for two-thirds of the working-age population growth, yet FEWER work today.
Here’s the harsh reality: 17 million working-age NATIVE US CITIZENS were NOT WORKING in the first quarter of 2014 than in 2000.”
http://thecrux.com/unbelievable-but-true-100-of-u-s-job-growth-since-2000-went-here/
Of course our Government designed the virus Stuxnet virus with Israel to take down Iran’s Nuke plant. Then Iran and Russia, just backed out and unraveled the code and now it is world wide and be used against us, like most every other weapon out there like drones, Nukes, etc. Botnets are used to do economic damage like to banks and hacking your passwords to your bank accounts to empty them. And your money is “Poof Gone.” Here is a clue, get off all Facebook, twitter, any and all WiFi signal systems. There are about 1000 infected cell phone apps that people are stupid enough to down load daily. Don’t be stupid or a victim.
People who put pictures of themselves and families on face book along with all manner of personal information have always made me wonder how smart that was. The theory is that only people you have friended had access but so what? They can always send them on from there to their friends who you do not even know exist.
Or just build a fake Facebook profile. Like take photos of your neighbors dog say it is yours. Take photo of other peoples cars say it is yours. Fake gilfriend, fake kids, fake house fake job, fake vacations.. fake photos of yourself. Fake info and stories. Have fun with it. Good counter Intel. To throw off the man. NSA FBI Marketeers. And build it using TOR Connection with remote IP address. Screw em back.
There was a woman on FB who actually got offended, because SHE posted a pic of her daughter on FB, and the pic WENT VIRAL. Stupid sheep.
Nah. Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by incompetence.
http://stilldrinking.org/programming-sucks
Do not read while eating or drinking…….
I heard about an app that makes your IPhone waterproof. I’m sure Americans jumped on it.
In our preps we must not forget to have something to alleviate boredom when the shit hits the fan. Buy a football, basketball, baseball, etc… Old atari, old tv, vcr, dvd, all left unplugged away from metal so it will work after the EMP. You can make regular gas last a long time despite what people say using the good stabilizer like Pri-G. I have made a regular supply last over 3 years and counting for testing purposes. For God’s sake, make sure you have water and a way to purify it. Don’t let ignorant sheeple get you down, as they are f ucked when this happens. Hate it for them, but we tried to tell them and they wouldn’t listen.
Nationwide Blackouts
Sabotage, Besides a Russian Gas Pipeline by Ukraine blowing up this last week with flames shooting 200Ft in the air, other countries are suffering from Electric Grid blackouts.
**All it takes is about 6 to 8 main transformers in the U.S. to crash in a cascading fashion, and the entire U.S will be in a black out. And it will take 2 years to replace the transformers, since they are built overseas, with a year lead time for production. Just saying, what life would be like with no electricity. Check out these other stories this week. You don’t hear about this in the MSM (Main Stream Media).
The entire country of Yemen had been in a Black out for days. Half of Venezuela has been blackout out for days just a few days ago. Its coming folks. Get ready, have at least 5 different ways to cook food. Stock up on canned foods and stay away from frozen of food that requires refrigeration dependent on power. Stock up on lots of bottled drinking water. You life depends on this.
I’ve read the same thing, several places, about the transformers being built overseas, and taking a year to get… You would think, with all the B.S. crap that the gov’t blows money on, that we would have a couple of these things sitting in warehouses around the country, “just in case”…..
I’m sure they do have THEIR emergency power covered.
Buying water in single serving bottles. And you Americans wonder why you are bankrupt?
That’s what you get for allowing the govt to control the water under your country, and foreigners to buy it out from under you…
The US actually has three independent power grids. Cascading failures due to any normal failure will be confined to one of the three grids.
.02 on the recent story about escaping Chicago:
Better off in some type of jeans and lose the military style backpacks in urban areas. Only a fool runs around looking like Rambo. A cheap bookbag will suffice. It needs to make it through ONE trip.
Seems way to easy to do???
Yeah it is. Hard to tell who’ll be goosing that mouse. Probably a mooslim from the Potomac River area.
A real Black Swan!
I guess my wood stove ,propane supply, and other preps might get used after all. Still better than an emp! God Bless, James
Got water…?
I don’t understand groups that want to destroy the U.S. when all they have to do is wait, we’re doing it for them.
95% of the world’s population just wants to live in peace and prosperity. Its the other 5% of political and corporate sociopaths that enjoy creating chaos,conflict and wars for greed, profit and control. The 95% needs to takeout the 5%. And the world can be the modern utopia as it was intended to be.
Thank Israel. THEY wrote STUXNET and loosed it on the world. This looks like a modification of what Israel used on Iran.
Every country that has a 14 yo kid and a computer has fucked with the system. The US government does it everyday. Your point ?
The interesting part isn’t that they wrote the ‘virus’, its that they: 1) knew the exact control systems that they were targeting, and 2) that they got it in an ‘air gaped’ system. All other considerations are minor implementation details.
Eppe: Time for some levity…it’s still morning and I already need it after reading today’s headlines….
PKLL
As you can see, I am an equal opportunity jokester, I am a blonde….
Subject: Seven Degrees of Blonde
FIRST DEGREE
A married couple was asleep when the phone rang at 2 in the morning. The very
blonde wife picked up the phone, listened a moment, and said ‘How should I
know, that’s 200 miles from here!’ and hung up. The husband said, ‘Who was
that?’
The wife answered, ‘I don’t know, some woman wanting to know if the coast is clear.’
SECOND DEGREE
Two blondes are walking down the street. One notices a compact on the sidewalk
and leans down to pick it up. She opens it, looks in the mirror and says, ‘Hmm,
this person looks familiar.’
The second blonde says, ‘Here, let me see!’
So, the first blonde hands her the compact.
The second blonde looks in the mirror and says, ‘You dummy, it’s me!’
THIRD DEGREE
A blonde suspects her boyfriend of cheating on her, so she goes out and buys a
gun. She goes to his apartment unexpectedly and when she opens the door she
finds him in the arms of a redhead. Well, the blonde is really angry. She
opens her purse to take out the gun, and as she does so, she is overcome with
grief. She takes the gun and puts it to her head.
The boyfriend yells, ‘No, honey, don’t do it!!!’
The blonde replies, ‘Shut up, you’re next!’
FOURTH DEGREE
A blonde was bragging about her knowledge of state capitals. She proudly says,
‘Go ahead, ask me… I know ’em all.’
A friend says, ‘OK, what’s the capital of Wisconsin?’
The blonde replies, ‘Oh, that’ s easy. Its W.’
FIFTH DEGREE
Q: What did the blonde ask her doctor when he told her she was pregnant?
A: ‘Is it mine?’
SIXTH DEGREE
Bambi, a blonde in her fourth year as a UCLA Freshman, sat in her US Government
class. The professor asked Bambi if she knew what Roe vs. Wade was about.
Bambi pondered the question; then, finally, said, ‘That was the decision George
Washington had to make before he crossed the Delaware ‘
SEVENTH DEGREE
Returning home from work, a blonde was shocked to find her house ransacked and
burglarized. She telephoned the police at once and reported the crime. The
police dispatcher broadcast the call on the radio, and a K-9 unit, patrolling
nearby, was the first to respond.
As the K-9 officer ap proached the house with his dog on a leash, the blonde ran
out on the porch, shuddered at the sight of the cop and his dog, then sat down
on the steps. Putting her face in her hands, she moaned, ‘I come home to find
all my possessions stolen. I call the police for help, and what do they do?
They send me a BLIND COP!’
priceless
thanks for the laugh eppe
Eppe, that is priceless, but you’re not exactly going to have much of a fan base among blondes. Keep them coming.
Eppe: So what does this have to do with the article? Focus man Focus.. Try some Ginko tabs.
Thanks for your concern. It is tough to match jokes with the article at hand. I guess I should go eat some leaves of my maidenhair tree out back.
Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba; in Chinese, Korean and Japanese: pinyin romanization: yín xìng, Revised romanization: “eun haeng”, Hepburn romanization: ichō or ginnan, Vietnamese: bạch quả), also spelled gingko[3] and also known as the maidenhair tree, is a unique species of tree with no living relatives.
If I were black, and told bad black jokes here would you be the same caring prepper that you post here as? Or would you like me to change the verbage to reflect whomever you would choose? Just wondering what your ‘problem’ is? Or better yet let the ‘plan’ vote. If you would like me to continue posting jokes, vote up, if not, you know what to do….
eppe.
Do know why Irishmen don’t eat pickles?
Can’t get their heads in the jar.
Funny that I am 1/4 Irish, and can take jokes, why can others not???
I am Irish too.
Where I live, they scrapped the 911 system. On their phones, residents couldn’t find the 11 key.
Are you people in 5th grade? Dumb jokes for small peebrains. Another reason why America is in decline. The Honey Boo boo generation. Where a family day outing for you is going to Walmart. Let me guess you are also a big fan of Duck Dynasty too.
Please, please, PLEASE continue, EPPE!
Eppe, you’re head of the comedy dept. here. Only SmokinOkie could replace you but he can’t come on here enough. Keep those jokes coming regardless. You really help make my day with them.
Keep em coming eppe!
LOL….thanks eppe…
PK
Whats black and blue lying in a ditch with red all over it? Some who tells too many “blonde jokes”!
eppe,
doesn’t matter if the grid goes down, as long as your there with us ;-). cheers mate.
I AM blonde and I love blonde jokes, thanks.
Why is this surprising? Pretty much everything is set up for instantaneous crippling, shutdown, or destruction. When the SHTF there will be coordinated mouse-clicking going on everywhere and nothing will work. Wonder if there is a mouse click to bring things back up.
Sorry but most of that about power plants is hogwash. There isn’t any way into a power plant’s control infrastructure from the outside. There are no physical connections of any kind so it is all but impossible. What IS possible is if some dip wad brought an unauthorized USB stick from home and plugged it into a control system inside the power plant. Now that IS possible but still, no way to control it from the outside. It would take some well place people that work in the power plant itself to make this happen and I really don’t see that happening. At least not with the nuke plants.
Quite right, Jim. Stuxnet was designed to be installed through a USB port of a computer system. Infrastructure computer systems do not have an Internet connection. At Fukushima the security system contractor is Magna BSP, an Israeli firm headquartered at Dimona in the Negev. Any employee who has access to the industrial computer system at a facility can install stuxnet. Or perhaps a consultant or regulator… They backed up the destruction through stuxnet with the installation of a gun-type nuke that looked to much like their unusual OWL camera. This was installed at reactor 3 and 4 and detonated two days later. The explosion was claimed to be due to an accumulation of hydrogen gas, but that wouldn’t have the enough velocity to crush 8-12′ of steel-reinforced concrete. Videos of the tsunami at Sendai did not show the destruction that should accompany a magnitude 9.0 earthquake until after the wave hit.
The Idiots down at Central Command in the Middle East picked up a USB Stick and stuck it in a laptop computer at the Military Base back in 2008. Well it infiltrated into the Pentagon system and downloaded something like 2 Terabites of classified info. As much info as the Library of congress. Read this: http://www.computerweekly.com/news/1280093634/Infected-USB-drive-significantly-compromised-Pentagon-computers
This led to the most significant breach of US military computers ever, and served as an important wake-up call, Lynn said.
“The flash drive’s malicious computer code, placed there by a foreign intelligence agency, uploaded itself onto a network run by the US Central Command. That code spread undetected on both classified and unclassified systems, establishing what amounted to a digital beachhead, from which data could be transferred to servers under foreign control,” Lynn said. This story made it on 60 Minutes asone of the largest Military Blunders. Besides the Invasion of Iraq.
That’s why the STIG mandates that we DISABLE SUB ports on our boxen.
LOL. 7 thumbs down from people that don’t work in nuclear power plants. I’ve been working in nuke plants since 1978 boys and girls and I know what I’m talking about.
Jim its the Honey Boo Boo joke crowd that lives in denial. When the lights go out for good lets see who joking about blond jokes. The world is plumb full of ignoramouses. It will be natures culling of the sheeple.
Jim,
I didn’t give you a thumb up or down. I do not work in the nuclear power industry but I have done some work for a regional power producer. Specifically on their CTU sites (combustion turbine units). These are located off site from their main power generating locations and are used as backup in case of demand.
And I know for a fact that these off-sites are monitored by the primary sites through the internet or an internet based system.
Not discounting what you are saying, I’m just stating that some power units are connected.
No its not. The temptation is always to allow access into the SCADA (System Control and Data Acquisition) system in the name of ‘efficiency’ and ‘convenience’.
It wasn’t too long ago that a nuke plant was knocked off-line because they allowed a VPN connection between their SCADA network and a third party ‘vendor’. Turns out that the vendor, and the plant, had windoze boxen and the vendor’s machine got a virus which spread to the plants SCADA control network.
Sorry , somewhat a rant, and definitely O/T
posed it on the traffic stop of the trucker but thread went stale
I had a funny encounter today
I had to re-up my Concealed Pistol Permit ( yeah yeah yeah spare me the second amendment is my permit speech I agree but dont need a weapons charge on my spotless record) 🙂
Well I start the process a Month before my due date , and pay for my right (bastards)
and now for 2 months I’ve been a good boy and played by their rules ..cannot carry Concealed passed my expiration date.< and thats bullshit!
Well , its been way too dam long so I call the County Clerk to check on whats the hold up.
I get some flim flam excuse on how many they have to process yada yada yada ..I say
Do you understand I have been a card carrying member since my state became a "shall issue state"( well over 12 to 13 years now), have had no issues with my eligibility etc.. and she goes on to say they have to conduct their meetings and review board etc..
I said thats fine you conduct your little pow wow behind closed doors with out "citizen review" < i think she didnt like those choice of words or what it implicates to their job
so I said // fine I'll just Open Carry than
well guess what?, seems in that "review" I was approved ..and the notice of when to arrive in the Clerks office to pick up my permit will be sent out ASAP..
how ridiculous, have to pay for a right #1, and have been packing with the use of their "papers" for 12-14 years..and I have to wait for a review board that there is no oversite on to approve, when I already have a valid CC number that has never been revoked ?
this country is drowning in red tape
Why should a Concealed Carry Permit ever expire?
especially one that the owner has never given reason to revoke it?..why after a certain date, usually your birth date are you in violation if you carry concealed ?
why?
because its not about the permit..or the right to carry..its all about the MONEY! and this is more proof of just that
FEMA Death Camp- MAIL BOX STICKERS: What color “Dot Sticker” you you have on your mailbox? Watch these 2 Vids –
and this one at the 2:30 Min Mark. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi3uNRBeKAo
And this Vid – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi3uNRBeKAo
WHAT MAIL BOX GOVERNMENT LIST ARE YOU ON?
What a crock of shit. If you’ll look closely, he has a section below his mailbox where he receives a newspaper. Those stickers are for whether or not he gets a paper or if his subscription has lapsed. They been doing this for over 25 years here. This guy is smoking horseshit.
I just commented on that vid and pointed that out….
Job creation!!! 🙁
yeah it sure seems like a money producer
where is it written that we have to pay for a right?
My area is still doing cleanup and repairs after three tornadoes came through. Now we’re expecting Hurricane Arthur to at least come close. I guess I’ll be going dark Thursday night.
I have started an experiment. We are cutting down a lot of privet hedge on our property. I am cutting the main stems into small lengths to dry and possibly use as fuel in a rocket stove. Has anyone else tried that?
Also, does anyone know why the dollar index dropped so suddenly on Monday morning?
If you watch the dollar index over the last month, you’ll see that it peaked on June 10th at 80.82. It’s had only 3 days since then where it went up. It closed yesterday at 79.77. From Sunday to Monday it dropped 26.4 cents.
It seems like the dollar index has been mostly down over the last year. But then there was a rally from its one year low of 79.09 on May 7th. Given that the recent dollar rally is over, I’d expect it to fall to a new low in the coming weeks.
And yet tomorrow, and for many years in the future, I can guarantee you that I can exchange my ‘worthless fiat currency’ for food, clothing, and fuel…..
Remote Access into critical systems is bullshit. Firewalls are in place that even if they were infected the outbound traffic would get locked down. Like Jim said, the only way for this to be reality is for someone on the inside to make specific changes to their network. IT people tend to be anal control freaks and it is unlikely that a change that would allow this would go un-noticed.
Are there weak spots? I am certain, but no one is going to crash our power grid with a mouse click. I like my fear porn as much as the next guy, but since I work in the IT industry, and for local government, I can tell you remote access via the internet is HIGHLY regulated, for this exact reason.
I would fear the group that shot out the transformers with high powered rifles, and never got caught, more that some fantasy cyber attack. If it happens, and they call it a cyber attack, it is a FALSE FLAG. This is not the late nineties where I can dial into your modem and hack your 4 digit password. Wargames was a fun movie and all, but very dated. Did you know that Matthew Broderick killed someone?
Anyhoot – just my .02 from the inside of the belly of the beast. Patriots do work for the government, still. And in reality, there are many hard working public servants in government. Yes, there are a lot of “them” as well, more than us for sure, but don’t discount a productive government employee. When the SHTF, we will be the prime information sources, as well as having abilities to use wooden shoes on the internal machinery.
Townsaver. You are naive, of what is available out there. There is a full time army of hackers worldwide, hacking into everything from, stores, to TV stations satellite broadcasting dishes, banks, the FBI,they IRS, Pentagon, Police Depts, Power plants, and even FaceBook’s founder had is personal web page hacked.
Here is some advice:
1. NEVER NEVER charge your phone on your laptop USB port. Google will steal your databases and contacts from one device to the other.
2. Never do any banking on your cellphone.
3. Never do any banking via WiFi connection.
4. Never use the same passwords for all your various log ins.
5. Change your passwords at least every other month for everything.
6. Never click on links in suspicious emails. Just trash them.
7. Stay off of all Facebook, Twitter, etc, as the the trojan next tries to access local files stored by a variety of social media, chat, and call apps including Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, LINE, and QQ.
7. These Trojans can remotely turn on your audio recording, camera, video, key logging, and “live mic” capabilities, as well as a “crisis” module that provides anti-analysis functionality.
Would you stand out on the street corner dangling all your personal info out there for any one to come and get? Then why would you go on stupid sites like Facebook and tell everybody about your life and what you do and where you work and what your hours are or when you go on vacation so they can come rob your house. Most people make themselves victims. Its a mess. Reduce your exposure. Stay Safe.
NEVER dangle your participle in public!
I worked in IT for 16ish years. My experience is this. Never underestimate non technical management to make IT decions. Cut corners, get cheap, and have a half ass job done.
I agree! I saw a term paper written about a possible attack by radical extremists using 14 x 4 man teams armed with .338 Lupa sniper rifles or .50cal BMG anti-material rifles. If targeted at the right set of transformer farms…Armageddon!
Lovely thought, eh!
Townsaver, welcome aboard, and I hope you’re right about no cyber attack taking place. I’m skeptical about this article myself. I’ve always suspected an EMP either nuclear or solar, will take out our grid. I do believe that one day we will lose the grid one way or the other. That is what my prepping is geared toward.
All you need is one person going in with an infected flash drive.
Could foreign agents break into someone’s house and load such software to the flash drives of an employee?
Could they offer an employee money just to plug it in their computer?
Could they threaten an employee and force them to plug in an infected flash drive into their work computer?
Could they monitor internet traffic from a power station to an employee’s home and then load malware on their home computer?
I think any of those are possible.
RE: how to get a computer virus into a “closed ” facility.
Leave several disks somewhere near the entrances or hangout places for staff with a label showing it is porn. Some doofus will take a look at it. Or maybe take it home where it infects his/her home computer which is used for a work flash drive. (possibly how stuxnet got in)
Most places with good internet security have disabled the ability to use an unknown USB or CD drive for anything but a read function. Immediate blocking from the net followed by escorting off the premises.
Exactly right. This article stinks. No…Yes it do.
In general you’re right. However never overlook the idiotic demands from MBAs (Morans Bumbling Around). In the end, most will fold to their idiotic demands for ‘efficiency’ and ‘convenience’.
this is BS….total BS…..power plants do NOT have open interfaces to the internet…try again fearmongers
Steve, You don’t know dung. How do you think power plants talk to each other to regulate the power between them? Osmosis? Everything is on the Internet. And dumber people put all their info and systems in some Cloud in cyberville.
Technology is not always better, the more technical the more gaps and ports to hack into. Have you ever run a test on your computer? You may have thousands of viruses slowing and stealing your info daily.
How did they do it before the Internet?
And besides that, I have lots and lots of batteries.
my batteries are in faraday cages.
Steve Hines, prepare to be bombarded by the ” red thumbs” brigade for having the courage to tell the truth. It’s not welcome here as is doesn’t fit the daily doom porn parade.
It takes five seconds to instill nonsense-based panic and two weeks to clean up the damage. I’m not going to go through all the technicalities refuting people who think that power plants have interfaces open to the internet. I assure you they do not. No engineer worth his salt would conceive of or implement such a system. There are many “networks” which have no association with the “internet” and know nothing about what to do with HTTP traffic. This story is a ludicrous as Jeff Goldblum planting a virus on an alien spacecraft from his MacBook in Independence Day…pure fiction
The consummate engineer wouldn’t dream of doing something like that, but his jackass MBA boss will demand it. The real question is who gives first?
PK Loo Loop another Hunny booboo fan club member. If you don’t know Jack then STFU. Read and learn something today. Its ok though those in denial will be the first to die. For you it will be the end of the world as you knew it.
Hey whodoooo, you’ve been calling for the end of the world for years now and yet SOMEHOW it never seems to happen. Makes you wonder how stupid the DUCK DYNASTY hillrod crowd like yourself REALLY IS.
Has anyone ever noticed that when someone says, “oh that could never happen”—it usually happens?
You may find this of some interest… enjoy!
http://www….rense.com/general81/dw.htm
Damn…Copy&Paste…
SH, I worked as a banking security officer for a 1.5 billion dollar bank for about 10 years. In 2002, I wrote a little program to copy script from USB to HDD, then delete it off the USB. The script was a key logger that stored data on a network share. The proof of concept was enough to make Executive Management nervous enough for IT to lock down all workstations.
A drive by infection from the web could easily do the same thing and send the text back to an offsite location via HTTP, for example, for analysis and refinement. The script could replicate to user computers across the network until discovered (unlikely, unless the IT department is looking for it) . A simple key logger script that is self replicating will eventually send Admin and privileged credentials back to the perpetrator.
Eventually all credentials and computers on the network could be mapped along with the devices they control.
By targeting the computers that control the critical devices. The analysis would take a lot of time, but then nation states can afford it. Once the analysis is done and the targets identified, another computer can be used as the proxy to download the payload and target the critical device with whatever is required.
Countermeasures exist, such as VLANs, workstation lock down, workstation firewalls, scrupulous log review and others, but doing so can be “expensive” and restrictive for the users. I am sure some companies and organizations will spend the money and take the time to secure their networks. Such infections could have been on any network for years, just logging and reporting and waiting for a trigger.
Even if 90% of the public utilities have secure networks, a huge amount of damage can still be done.
If a dumb ass script kiddie like me can can make Executive Management nervous, imagine what a dedicated group of cyber assaulters could really do.
The only safe computer is battery powered, network disconnected and inside a Faraday Cage.
Remember when there were no dependencies on computers. As I recall most things worked just fine.
h t t p://bastionofliberty.blogspot.com/2014/07/guilding-polity.html
It doesn’t take a mouse-click anyway. The stuxnet was designed to be installed through a USB port of a computer system. Infrastructure computer systems do not have an Internet connection. At Fukushima the security system contractor is Magna BSP, an Israeli firm headquartered at Dimona in the Negev. Any employee who has access to the industrial computer system at a facility can install stuxnet. Or perhaps a consultant or regulator… They backed up the destruction through stuxnet with the installation of a gun-type nuke that looked much like their unusual OWL camera. This was installed at reactor 3 and 4 and detonated two days later. The explosion was claimed to be due to an accumulation of hydrogen gas, but that wouldn’t have the enough velocity to crush 8-12′ of steel-reinforced concrete. Videos of the tsunami at Sendai did not show the destruction that should accompany a magnitude 9.0 earthquake until after the wave hit.
Dow 17k here we come. Rally on. Can’t pretend to understand it. Too rich for my blood. I am keeping out. I don’t think even a blackout would stop these traders from jacking this thing through the roof. WTF. I guess among the world economies, the US is the tallest midget in the room (no offense to the little people out there).
Thought for the day…(received this in an email)
Two Wolves
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a
battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son,
the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment
inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope,
serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Survivalism has nothing to do with good and evil. Its about advantages. Only. If you think to do good in SHTF or expecting any mega battle between good and evil you are so wrong.
KY Mom,
Thanks. I have seen this before but I needed to be reminded of the story. I am also reminded of Paul’s writings in Phillipians chapter 4:
4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
10-14 I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles. Passage from The Message.
It sounds nice but it isn’t true. Transforming who you are is very difficult outside of becoming a Christian and having God change who you are.
Only my opinion but I don’t think the next false flag will be to wipe out the power. The first thing will be a nuke in a major city, to scare all the steeple into submission and to further the gun agenda etc. Then a future possible an attack on the grid to take everyone else out. Just my opinion. I am preparing in all ways though.
good idea. cover all the bases. if you think about it, a power grid failure from whatever cause, is the easiest way to cripple a nation. And don’t think for a minute that the people in control, and the ones who hate us, don’t know this.
I believe that we have already been told what city it will be.
Yea, because history says that when America is attacked we put down our guns…. You need another ‘theory’.
I hate to say this, but if we shut all the computers down Obullshit wouldn’t be able to lie to us. Damn that might be a good thing!
This could be a false flag or Obullshit is pissed because he didn’t do it first.
Can you tell I think tis prez SUCKSD!
Sgt.
There is no difference between Obambi and Bushitler.
Good evening, Sgt. Dale, and you won’t get any argument out of me about the BOY in the White House.
I need,… must have… air conditioning!!!
It’s so dang hot right now! Over 100 degrees.
It is the God-given right for every one in America to have access to air-conditioning. If some Russian hacker destroys my ability to enjoy unfettered air-conditioning, there must be H-E-Double Toothpick to pay in Moscow!!!
(jus’ kidding! Sort of.)
Free: No kidding…it’s 113 here and hasn’t even got hot yet….not looking forward to 120+…..sigh….praying for el nino….
PKLL
Google, Redneck air conditioner
For all the naysayers who openly state “that will never happen”, you want to retract those words. Being a former defense related contractor myself, I have seen plenty to support the articles warning. Let’s not forget that STUXNET was a joint U.S. & Israel project.
h t tp://www.businessinsider.com/stuxnet-was-far-more-dangerous-than-previous-thought-2013-11
Also, back in the spring of 2013 this event:
U.S. intelligence agencies traced a recent cyber intrusion into a sensitive infrastructure database to the Chinese government or military cyber warriors, according to U.S. officials.
The compromise of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ National Inventory of Dams (NID) is raising new concerns that China is preparing to conduct a future cyber attack against the national electrical power grid, including the growing percentage of electricity produced by hydroelectric dams.
Yes, it also looks like the entry point to the Iran facility was employee(?) or physically based. It really is not that hard to do, after all. I have seen security camera footage of ‘foreign nationals’ who reached over the USB port on a monitor at the receptionist desk, plugged in a mini-thumb drive and pulled it 22 seconds later. The infection from that incident was not even detected until some 6 months later, when some of the 3 letter agencies got involved. No, I’m not going to tell you who they were either.
The point is: Security and overall employee behavior is SO lax or non-existent, we are sitting ducks. This is *why* Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued an open letter to her successor last year and warned that a “massive and serious” cyber attack targeting the U.S. power grid was imminent. Such an event, said Napolitano, would have an immediate impact on everything from powering your home to grocery food deliveries.
Whether it ends up being a ‘Black Swan’ False Flag, or just cyber battle defeat…it IS going to happen. If just the hydro electric and dam turbines get hacked and/or destroyed, we will have a real serious problem on our hands.
@Socrates You are right. This is how many businesses and companies get hacked. Their Pee-Brain employee has a home computer which his numb skull 9 year old plays internet games on. Thus the infected virus sets in. The Family goes on vacation and takes a ton of photos then down loads them onto the same game home computer. The photos become infected. Then Daddy pee brain downloads all his vacation photos onto a thumb drive to take to work, plugs it into the business computer to show all of this co-workers his vacation photos via the infected thumb drive. And this is similarly how the Business computers get infected and can take down an entire company with an infected virus, malicious malware or hack. Any company out there who has outside employees, needs to remove all USB ports or any connections that may be hacked. Do not allow personnel to log onto personal email from the company computer. No Facebook , No email, No games, No outside connection. Place an outside computer in the break room to the World Wide Web, but not in any way shape or form connected to your internal business network. Its frightening the damage it can do. Millions and Billion of dollars in damage, intellectual property stolen, trade secrets, personal identifying info, bank accounts, etc.
There are thousands of miles of un guarded and unwatched transmission tower lines. There have already been attacks on several of the towers which looked like just little probing attacks to see what would happen. If the day comes and there are a thousand such attacks at once the power is going out. There is no way that all those lines can be guarded. They can raise havoc just by utilizing the built in line fault/surge protection features.
Maybe they (TPTB) will take it down just to prove a point
the point being they want to prove they are running the show and how dependent we are upon them for this resource ..or electrical power
lets not forget they love to fight over resources , and those that generate power to the people, it gives them their jollies when it makes us suffer
lets face it..no power ..huge die offs and dam fast too
and who would benefit?..not one of us
Now on the other side of that coin
if they shut down the power.. all of their protection services go down too, making them just as vulnerable as us
No security systems, cameras, electric locks , that list is huge and levels the playing field for us to them
so if they had two brain cells to rub together they wouldn’t pull this stunt.
In regarding to the posting here, anyone who has been coming to
this site for a spell should be prepared for an event regarding
a disruption of power or goods to stores. When that day happens, everybody will have to cut back 50 per cent plus on standard of living. Because I believe that the crisis will last beyond one year or so and resupply would be hindered by regional internal conflicts and earth changes.
I know that it is possible for a Russian, North Korean, Chinese, or an American to strike a blow against our electrical system using computers.
Not to forget regarding a report posted on this web site regarding and incident in that state where the transformers were shot out in a planned, coordinated strike and will say I am concerned about internal hostiles especially from radical Islamic groups and I think we should be.
The President wants to transform America.
Crap…that means warm ice cream!
Not at my house. If I knew the power was off everywhere for a long time, the ice cream would be eaten immediately. Then I would check with neighbors and see if they needed any help eating theirs. Always ready to lend a hand.
I was at a food service wholesale place that had ice cream mix for machines that you mix with only water then freeze. May have to wait till winter to get it frozen but I will have ice cream when the grid is gone!!
We call that “sugar milk” when that happens.
So many things can doom the average person. But think about it. You can survive a long time on a little bit of food. But you have to have drinkable water very quickly, after any kind of shutdown problem. Good drinking water is the key to surviving most any bad situation. Just think a long , long camping trip.
I think most preppers have a chance to make it. The rest of society will be standing in a local bread line waiting for a handout. Not a pretty picture.
We are all forgetting the grid collapse doomsday movie a year back, American Blackout. Which sent a false message that if you hunker down, the grid will be repaired and things will return to normal.
Maybe it wasn’t a warning, but a Psyops to announce their intent and to mislead people on what to do when it happens. The secondary argument could be made that they portray those that prepped as failing and being ineffective.
Plus the damage can be better managed than a messy EMP.
Sierra Dave, I watched that movie and knew it was pure antiprepper propaganda. The reality is that in the aftermath of an EMP, it would take 5-10 years to restore power. 90% of the population would be gone within 6 months or less, forget about the 1 year estimate. There’s a good chance it may not get restored at all. Life in this country will change in a heartbeat.
I watched it. And in the end when the power came back on, I yelled “BULLSHIT!”
About the only saving grace of the movie was the violence that people would face. Maybe it woke some people up.
Sierra Dave, the violence part was the one of the few things they got right in that movie, well partially right. The real deal, whenever it happens, will make the movie pale in comparison.
A sudden grid down with no warning might catch a lot of people off guard assuming it’s an ordinary power outage.
An EMP strike will be easier to recognize right away as different than such, when the small battery-powered electronics are dead also or networks are permanently down. Whether or not modern vehicles are disabled is disputed with other factors involved, the EMP Commission did a study and found most cars were fine or had minor electrical damage. If at work, go home, and there’s an advantage of working close to home so there won’t be a long get-home trek. Use your cash to get any last minute items before the panic begins, small stores, let them keep the change. Fill the bathtubs and sinks and other containers with water while you still can. Monitor the AM/FM/Shortwave (hopefully it was Faraday shielded) to see if you can hear anything. Load all the magazines. Reestablish communications with your team (our combat radios are hardened) or whoever matters to you by radio or go get them. Stay in, evacuate a populated area, or talk to the community.
One thing that doesn’t get enough mention are maps (and topographical maps showing water sources). Maps, not GPS. Mark all strategic assets, areas, and corridors plus dangers. Burn it if you’re about to be compromised.
The lesson from all this is that we need to be prepared for the sudden collapse of America’s power grids. That means you should have extra gasoline stored to go get family members if necessary.
Talking about crippling power plants, Sunspot # 2104 is rotating into a direct Earth hit should it erupt within the next 4 days or so. This big sunspot is capable of a X flare. Whether it decides to go off within 4 days is the question. Any X flare of over 5 could cause some problems to ground electronics. X-10 and we could see some serious issues. Most of these X flares in the past have away from the planet when they erupted. This one seems kind of ripe for going off at the wrong time. A wait and see.
Here is a picture of the region to watch:
http://www.solarham.net/regions/2104.htm
Balderdash!!! If they could do it, they would. I dare them to do it. Go ahead; I’d welcome some time off without electricity.
9 out of 10 in the ‘urban’ centers??? P L E A S E!!!! When can we get this thing going? Do they need to borrow my mouse?
Really stupid,
Just who do you think they plan on replacing all the dead with? Think the present residents are bad? Just wait until they are all third world and most likely Muslim. That is the plan.
I don’t care what it is we all are just ONE CLICK away from the END!!!!!
River Rat at the ready!!! NOMI///MOLON LABE! (waiting for the one click)
sounds like a cover story for a false flag event. Nothing will motivate the people’s support for war as making them miss Dancing with the Stars.
The Feds have some rather spectacular tools to track, find, and disable you on their internet. If a lack of management functionality prevents them from using the tools, that’s unfortunate. But the capabilites are there, and they’re endless. Were the Feds able to identify the host system in a grid attack, I would expect no less than, even from this President, fighter jets, guided missiles and SEAL teams — and they don’t usually take prisoners. How unfortunate for the pair of fourteen year olds in the basement, clicking away at keyboards, capitalizing on the same counter-compromising tools the hackers use when the Feds come calling! Do you know what little Johnny is really doing online? You better hope it’s just porn!
The u.s. is a nation of gullible fools. They are everywhere you look and hear. The entire system can crumble down around and upon them and the majority would not raise their voices in objection above a peep. Repeat the mantra, the muslim terrorist’s are our enemy. The reply…USA! USA! USA! It is truly pathetic and a masterful job of propaganda brainwashing. I, Me, Mine, America.
Well moron the Muslim terrorists really are our enemy. Are you that stupid not to realize that?
Not saying the grid can’t or won’t be taken down in the future, but to use Steve Quayle as a source doesn’t give the story much in the way of credibility, IMHO. He is a “BS” slinger of the first order.
Howdy, TN Andy. I’m skeptical about this article myself. I believe we’ll lose the grid eventually, but NOT through a cyber attack. I still believe it will be an EMP, either nuclear or solar. Power plants don’t have the kind of access to the internet that the article claims.
Exactly correct. You got it!
Hi, I have been a long time reader, first time commenting.
I started prepping right before the financial collapse in 2008. So I’ve been at this for a long time. No matter how much you prep there is still so much more I would like to do.
I just started to turn my attention to power supply issues (because that can be the hardest to address). With respect to power, I have always thought that Ferfal (the guy that went through the financial collapse in Argentina) was probably correct in what we might face in the US.
He frequently experienced rolling blackouts and brownouts. So, I have focused on deep cycle marine batteries and rechargable batteries that can help get me through down power times.
Otherwise it is difficult/impossible for someone in the sububurbs to become energy efficient. I guess I mean if the grid goes down I’m in deep trouble. Have’nt I seen reports that like 90% of Americans would die within 2 years if the grid went down?
What are some of the thing you guys do with respect to energy prep? Thanks. Well I sure am glad to finally be a part of this site!
I believe that solar panels and inverter is the way to go. At least enough to run basic things.
hi there justice welcome aboard!.
You might wanna try solar panels.
A reliable, QUIET generator will help in the short run and might keep you going for a couple of weeks but eventually you will need something that doesn’t need refueling VIA fossil fuels. A solar power setup is pretty nice but expensive. The batteries needed along with a hefty (at least 4,000 watt inverter) will set you back several thousand dollars. But…it should last at least 5 years (battery life) if taken care of. Don’t forget you will also need spare parts and perhaps a backup inverter. More money.
This is why you use minimal general and maximize storage. Alarm systems – Usually contain a 12 v 4 – 7 (14ahx2 if commercial fire alarm) DC battery. This can be inverted to run many AC powered devices. To achieve higher voltages/amperage utilize series or parallel wiring. Two battery wired in series (inverter positive to battery A positive – Battery A negative to battery B positive – Battery be negative to device negative) Will increase voltage and maintain amperage. IE 2 12 volt 4amp hour batteries wired in series create 24 v at 4 amps. 2 12 volt 4 amp hour batteries wiring in parallel (battery a positive to battery b positive to device positive – battery a negative to battery be negative to device negative) will generate 12 V at 8 amp hours. 5 12 v 4 amp hour batteries wiring in parallel and inverted to AC is the equivalent of a bedroom electrical circuit.
Power generation to charge these devices is far more simple then what most realize. Any electric motor – at the same time is a generator. Ceiling fan in your living room? Well if you can maintain it’s spin consistently if can create an AC current. (AC motors are AC generators – DC motors are DC generators) Alternators from you’re vehicle is probably you’re best bet – Either that or a battery powered Drill. With a little enginuity you can fashion recharging “generators” with old bicycles = which is probably the easiest and most effective way to generate energy for small devices or charging batteries. Advanced knowhow can get you into turbines – whether it be steam/wind/ or water. Batteries are quite literally all around us – Just knowing where to look.
Justice,
Good to see you on here. If you haven’t read a bit of fiction – I’d recommend “One Second After”. It woke up a lot in the prepper community to the probable death toll due to a massive power fail situation. (read that as EMP). As Durango Kidd is fond of saying – form teams, engage your neighbors (I apologize, but I didn’t engage my fellow employees when I was gainfully employed – half didn’t have a clue, and those that I thought “got it” didn’t.) I took a bit of artistic license with his statement. However, when building or using a solar array system to charge deep cycle batteries such as the marine systems you describe, as good as you can afford to get is the best route to go.
What I do regards energy preparation is solar array – charge regulator – battery bank. I use a hygrometer to monitor the acid and water levels in the batteries. I also make sure that the panels are cleaned of dust and debris so that I have as maximum exposure of the cells to the sun. (you could go full tilt bozo on an auto-sun tracker system) Conversion of most of the critical components in your house to utilize D.C. power is important. Or utilize a massive inverter for the refridgerator. Myself? I use a genset that is dual fuel, along with solar.
Don’t forget security, training, food, bandaids and bullets.
Be well.
Cat
solar is a good option as is learning to live without. everything breaks/wears out eventually, may as well be prepared for that as well.
What ever is going to happen is going to happen.
Americans will prevail at least the over 50 crowd.
Not sure about the I pod computer dependent folks will.
Hint, hint, spend some time in the bush, that’s the woods.
I know the West Virginians will.
Won’t be long now.
hackers should get whole of life in jail if they steal or cause damage!
if someone dies as a result of hacking, then the hacker should be executed!
Why wouldn’t the malware tunnel using http?
whenever I hear someone say “it can’t happen”
or “that is impossible”
I think of the Titanic
hubris will burn ya every time
Because in a properly secured enterprise web there is no physical connection to the outside world.
They should get “PC Matic” like I did and they should be safe… ;^)
I think that can still be cured with antibiotics…..
Russian Hackers Targeting Oil and Gas Companies
http://peakoil.com/business/russian-hackers-targeting-oil-and-gas-companies
“At least three industrial control software developers were affected, according to researchers at Symantec, F-Secure and CrowdStrike. The first was a maker of remote access tools for industrial control systems; the second, a European manufacturer of specialized industrial control devices; and the third, a European company that develops systems to manage wind turbines, natural gas plants and other energy infrastructure. They were not named by the security companies because of confidentiality agreements”
Battery charges for sale in the midlands. Prices may vary
remember this little item ?
well it’s MUCH worse than we thought
Exclusive: Controversial US scientist creates deadly new flu strain for pandemic research
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/exclusive-controversial-us-scientist-creates-deadly-new-flu-strain-for-pandemic-research-9577088.html
“He used a flu virus that is known to infect humans and then manipulated it in such a way that it would effectively leave the global population defenceless if it ever escaped from his laboratory,” he said”
““He’s basically got a known pandemic strain that is now resistant to vaccination. Everything he did before was dangerous but this is even madder. This is the virus,” he added.”
but don’t worry
because they have “policies”
they have “procedures”
they have “contingencies”
to prevent any kind of lab accident
“However, this study was done at the lower level-2 biosafety. The university has said repeatedly that there is little or no risk of an accidental escape from the lab,”
yeah
right
” although a similar US Government lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta with a higher level-3 biosafety rating was recently criticised over the accidental exposure of at least 75 lab workers to possible anthrax infection.”
and Chernoyl didn’t happen
and Fukushima didn’t happen
and
oh
the Titanic is still afloat !!!
“…believed to be orchestrated by a Russian-backed hacking group…”
Well, I’m convinced. /s
I’m sure this was a NYT hit piece. When .gov says we need a new boogieman, those zipper lickers jump right on it.
Reminds me of that old cartoon where the little mutt was hopping around the big dog…”We gonna get a bone Spike? Huh, Spike? We gonna get a bone?”
I have been saying it for years.
A 14 year old with a 10 year old laptop in a motel room in Baghdad can shut our entire power grid in about 15 minutes. Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock
Are YOU ready?
I found great info at: http://www.iplantosurvive.info
“New Computer Virus Can Cripple Power Plants With the Click of a Mouse”
Totally false. I keep clicking my mouse and not a damn thing is happening: the lights are still on.
h
t
t
p://food4patriots.com/video/index.php?CID=30&AFID=1095&click_id=102785df0ced60d7275f919692ee30&offer_id=30&aff_sub2=2q2m34s8_197_16456461
Ok is this Bullshit..or true?
can anyone vet this?
or is this his ploy to push his sales ?
we all know food is important , or is this his sales ploy?
The only main references I can find to that ‘story’ is basically through that same guy pushing the story.
The takeaway from this of course IS the NDAA of 2012.
The government states they can confiscate food, energy and other resources as they deem necessary.
Bottom line: If/when the goons come around to confiscate your SPAM or other resources, you can give them your precious metals…starting with lead, steel and copper first! 😉
That’s kind of what I got from it too
As far as the threat of “something” is always eminent when dealing with who we are dealing with
10-4 on the precious metal delivery
***** EBOLA UPDATE *****
Ebola toll jumps to 467 in deadliest outbreak ever
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ebola-toll-jumps-to-467-in-deadliest-outbreak-ever-1.2693407?cmp=rss
“The number of deaths attributed to an epidemic of Ebola virus in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone stood at 467 by Monday, out of 759 known cases in total, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.”
ya gotta love this
DINING IN COMFORT
http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/07/01/dining-in-comfort/
a little 2nd Amendment with yer burger ?
As cleaning service personal are given keys to clean in certain critical areas, it’s not to hard to steal the software to access the power plants in critical areas 1 place disc into laptop plant asks you to call back, So you can be identified at the calling number, access alarm thresholds and lower voltage alarm thresholds, no alarm is sounded when voltages drop in unmanned building, remotely lower voltage output, Alarms generated in central location too far away to get service people in time, Major service interruption, Run like hell.
A thought, on how much water usage you use in 1 day. Take a 5gal. bucket, now for every glass, measured amount used in cooking etc. pour that amount into the bucket. Now for a shower pour in 3gal, stool flush pour in 1gal. I think these are somewhat conservative amounts, but this is a look at just how much you will need a day and where you may conserve usage. The amounts will be a big surprise I think. More than one bucket may have to be used. Don’t take WATER for granted. Look any time you use water pour the same amount into a bucket.
River Rat at the ready!!! NOMI///MOLON LABE!
Ever see the movie
Law Abiding Citizen ?
One of these days someone is going to do another person wrong , and hell is going to come for a visit , our failed legal system is going to hang for it
The premise might have some validity but its long lasting effects are way over dramatized. Maybe the control system can be hi-jacked at a power plant but the protection devices known as interlocks are hard wired. They might be able to shut a power plant down (and I doubt that) but it won’t be damaged. Give me a good instrument team and operators and they will by-pass, re-start and put that fossil plant be it coal or gas fired on line.
A good old thrashing from mother nature via hurricane would do far more damage.
Nukes are out of my zone of knowledge.
Check out my replies above. Been in the nuke business since 1878.
LOL…1978!
remember this little incident ?
Northeast blackout of 2003
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_Blackout_of_2003
caused by what ???
“The blackout’s primary cause was a software bug in the alarm system at a control room of the FirstEnergy Corporation, located in Ohio. A lack of alarm left operators unaware of the need to re-distribute power after overloaded transmission lines hit unpruned foliage, which triggered a race condition in the control software. What would have been a manageable local blackout cascaded into widespread distress on the electric grid.”
a tree branch and a software “bug”
we were told that things like the 2003 blackout just couldn’t happen
and take a good long look at all those people hoofing it home
or trying to
now just imagine if the lights stay out for months
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/14/2003-northeast-blackout_n_3751171.html
along related lines
A Nation Forsaken: EMP: The Escalating Threat of an American Catastrophe
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14652407-a-nation-forsaken
great book
We have a tropical storm to the southeast. Been organizing its circulation and stationary over warm water. Suppose to move north and then out to sea and head towards the Carolina’s. Still inside the cone of landfall and flowing over the Gulf stream. This could get strong real fast.
East Coast Preppers check your gear.
For short term reliable power Sam’s has a decent 3550 watt generator with wheel kit for under $300. The reviews on it are excellent. Yesterday I drove to my local Sam’s and looked at it. Seems well built and has a maximum noise level of 70 dB according to the specs. My current 6500 watt generator is LOUD as heck and when I used it recently the neighbors noticed. Now I’m working on sound insulating the big gen but I’ve been thinking I should probably get another generator. 3 is 2 and 2 is 1 and 1 is none.
Just don’t be dependent on the elites’ stuff and they won’t be able to have their terrorist buddies deprive you of it as a tactic to force more concessions of your individual liberty from you.
John W. … you prove my point exactly, you are thouroughly either brainwashed or braindead if you think muslims have attacked America.
My generator located in shed 50 feet from home. Exhaust routed through metal plate for heat safety, #8 conductors for voltage drop. Also modified for propane or gas. Also use manual transfer switch allows you to equalize loads. Only safe way to do it. Power outage from Sandy lasted two weeks. Exhaust fan in shed not strong enough to dissipate heat from generator But with door partly opened OK. With windows closed in back cannot hear generator. Posted on Panel is a detailed method of procedure for operating in case of power outage for family to operate if I’m not around. In the early 1960 era I was on switchboard watch 12 to 4 noticed what looked like a large campfire in direction of fuel dump in Vieques P.R. naval station called the O.D. Turned out the person was filling generator that was still hot!! He was badly burned. Safety please no short cuts. Second time posting love all the good posts hope I can contribute Thanks for SHTF
A little off topic…in 1990, a massive F 5 tornado decimated a town two miles away from me…there were 29 or 33 deaths…depending on who’s statistics you like. The big deal was that the tornado warning system failed to activate…people were out and about, not paying too much attention to the skies…
Monday night, the same region was hit again with two tornadoes touch downs and guess what….? You got it…no tornado sirens…although the media hyped the incoming storm…I do not believe there were casualties except for a lighting strike. And loss of power…and downed trees…lucky this time!
Bigger news was people getting out of their cars and waking to O’Hare…from a flooded expressway…so they would not miss their flights…
Stupid is as stupid does I guess…
everyone (especially the msm…) seems so surprised by this. Let me be the bearer of bad news folks, functional, state sponsored cyberwarfare has been around for decades now. Back in the gulf war for example we shut down the power infrastructure if Baghdad using malware imbedded in HP printers/JetDirect cards before we rolled the tanks and planes. we (and our adversaries, state, private, and others) have learned a lot since then. This isn’t even news. Now the fact that they are pushing this info in the msm at this point in time could be an issue….
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