US may declare WAR on Russia if Putin-linked hackers breach electrical grid & leave Americans without power, expert says
THE US could declare war on Russia if Putin-backed hackers breach the electricity grid leaving Americans in the dark, an expert has warned.
Cybersecurity expert Hugh Taylor said state-sponsored Russian attackers are “degrading” Washington’s defensive capabilities.
He revealed that cyberattacks may want to target local institutions to stir up political unrest.
Taylor warned that if electricity supplies are breached, leaving Americans in the darkness, then it could cause a declaration of war.
He said: “If Americans that are used to being comfortable are facing months of no electricity or left in the freezing cold, then it could be a cause of war.”
The expert revealed that a “saving grace” is that electricity supplies are difficult to target.
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He said: “There’re thousands of power companies in the United States so it’s almost impossible to hack all of them.
“People are worried that a city like New York could get blacked out by a cyberattack, but the idea that the whole country would get blacked out is very unlikely.”
The West, including the US, has imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia following the invasion – something which Putin has likened to a declaration of war.
Taylor said: “If Russia feels that it’s under attack, then they may counter-attack.”
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The cybersecurity expert speculated that Russian hackers may want to turn off the emergency services or state target police forces.
Brandon Weichert, a geopolitical expert, has warned: “Putin will target critical infrastructure not only in Ukraine but also in the US so the West cannot disrupt Russia’s fight in Ukraine.
“As this war goes on and the bloodier it gets, expect our lives in the USA to be increasingly disrupted in cyberspace.”
Weichert warned that a devastating attack could send the US hurtling back to the 19th century.
Last month, President Biden warned that the US is “prepared to respond” if Russia targets the US’ critical infrastructure.
‘READY TO RESPOND’
The administration believed Russia was behind attacks on American pharmaceutical companies and claimed that major gas companies were targeted – weeks before Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
Hackers are said to have accessed over 100 computers in this time.
In a bid to bolster defenses, the president signed a law that mandates critical infrastructure organizations to report cyber attacks within 72 hours.
And, any institution that files a ransom payment must report it to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within 24 hours.
Experts say that low-scale hack attacks on the US have been happening for years but warned the impact of a potential Russian cyberattack shouldn’t be underestimated, CNN reports.
Robert M Lee said: “If we look at just what they’ve been able to do, there is only, according to public knowledge, one country out there that has any experience taking down electric systems.”
And, Melissa Hathaway, who led cybersecurity programs in the Bush and Obama administrations, said: “If I need to cause a national crisis in another country, they know how to do this, they’ve systematically been testing the system.”
US ‘VULNERABLE’
Cybersecurity expert Glenn S Gerstell warned about Washington’s vulnerability to an attack.
He told The Guardian: “If we had approached this correctly 20 years ago, we would be largely invulnerable to cyber-attacks.
“But unfortunately that is not the case.”
Gerstell, who served as the general counsel of the National Security Agency, doesn’t believe Russia will “turn out the lights” but warned the private sector, in particular, isn’t prepared for attacks.
He said: “The US has been reactive and side-stepped cyber responsibility by simply grafting it on to existing government agencies, making each agency responsible for its own area.”
Hackers, suspected to be linked to Russia, have carried out several attacks against the US in recent months.
The Colonial Pipeline – which normally transports 2.5million barrels of gas a day – was shut down on April 29 after it was hacked by the Russian criminal group DarkSide.
The attack crippled fuel delivery for several days in the southeastern United States.
The meatpacking firm JBS also fell victim to a cyberattack, affecting production at its pork plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, and Colorado in May.
In 2020, Kremlin spies hacked Microsoft and infiltrated a US nuclear weapons stockpile as part of a nine-month “virtual invasion” by Moscow.
Hackers used various techniques, including the corruption of updates from network management app SolarWinds.
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