Ann.out, page-173

You can literally watch cyber warfare live right here, and see where attacks are coming from and who is being targeted.
While we don’t know who is responsible for the attacks and why they are doing it, we can only imagine an apocalyptic scenario of life without the internet. Here’s what I picture it to be:
What would life be like without the internet?

In between a meeting and a call with a client, you are looking at your stock portfolio when the screen goes blank. Right before it went blank, you noticed a sharp drop in the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500. You reset your computer and the router, but that doesn’t help.
The whole office seems to be having the same problem, so you wait around for an hour, but nothing changes. People are trying to make calls, but are thwarted by the buzzing noise of a disconnected line.

You decide no more work is getting done today, so you head home. Trying to call an Uber, you are stopped by an error message. Without a car, you walk to the bus stop, on the way noticing all the traffic lights are out and the roads are packed with angry and confused drivers...
An eery feeling passes through your body.
Hours have passed and there is no news on what is happening. It’s not until a neighbor fires up an old radio that you hear the internet is down and will be back up shortly. Broadcasters tell you to remain calm and to stay home.

An entire day passed and broadcasters continue to tell you very little. Fearing the worst, you head over to the grocery store to stock up on food, only to run into 500 hundred other people with the same idea. The manager of the store is yelling, “You must present cash at the door. We aren’t accepting any cards.” The tension of scared civilians is thick when all of a sudden a car drives through the window of the store--it’s the tipping point the crowd needed to burst into the store. Chaos ensues. People fight over rice and water.

Police and paramedics are slow to respond because of the lack of communication. Hospitals are filled with injured looters, but the treatment process is extremely slow since medical records can’t be accessed and supplies can’t be accounted for.

Small crimes happen all over your city for a few days until stores are empty. People have retreated into their homes, huddled around radios to hear the latest news. Day after day broadcasters addressed you with the same empty tone and the same disappointing message. The ambiguity is too much to handle for some, and others are forced to ponder what the rest of the world is experiencing. A week passes before the President finally delivers good news.

It will be several days before basic internet function is restored and months before the infrastructure is back to normal.
There are discrepancies over the money in your bank account since entire systems were wiped clean and no paper records are present to cross check. This digital blackout caused US stock markets to crash, company valuations to plummet, and international trade to come to a standstill. It will take years for the US economy to recover.

The only thing that can’t be fixed is the memory implanted in people’s heads of the animalistic instincts that took over the masses, fearing the next time the internet goes down.
Yes, this sounds like the beginning to an apocalypse movie, but it’s the harsh reality of what the initial days of life without the internet would be. With the exponential takeover of internet connected devices, digital security is vulnerable to large-scale attacks that can cripple the nation.

Cyber war is much different than previous wars some have witnessed or have heard about. This isn’t about using weapons to take lives. It’s about disabling digital infrastructure, causing panic and havoc. The same digital infrastructure that has allowed this beautiful country to grow and amass a fortune is the very thing that can bring it to its knees.

The financial, healthcare, and energy industries are among some of the weakest in terms of digital security. For example, the Target hack in 2013 resulted in over $300 million in damages to Target, credit unions, and community banks. Recent reports show that 47% of Americans’ medical records have been hacked in the past 12 months. Not to mention, hackers have numerously breached our energy companies and planted malware, making it easy to shut off our power grid at any given time.

Worst of all, though, the hacks of the DNC email database released on WikiLeaks are influencing politics and possibly deciding the election. Between WikiLeaks and Friday’s attack on Dyn, many people are pointing fingers at Russia. Whether they are responsible or not, these events have triggered an onslaught of worldwide cyber warfare, much to the degree which Pearl Harbor made us get serious about WWII.

This may all sound like fear mongering, but it’s the truth. A cyber war is happening right now and there is really nothing you and I can do about it.