Tick, tick, tick… Is anybody else hearing a ticking time bomb these days? If you’re keeping an eye on the news, I’m guessing you are.
War in Ukraine between Russia and the country it attacked for no good reason. War in the Middle East following Hamas’ brutal attack against Israel.
Chinese and Russian warplanes entering the defense zones of Japan and South Korea. China floating a spy balloon over America. And infiltrating our critical cyber infrastructure.
It seems like everyone is itching for a fight these days. It’s no wonder many people are getting nervous. Especially considering the firepower many countries possess and the increasing strength of artificial intelligence.
That’s what I’d like to discuss with you today. A little later I’m going to ask you to contribute your thoughts, theories, or opinions about world conditions. And what the future might hold for us.
Undetected Cyber Infrastructure Attacks
Let’s start with cyber activity. According to a recent Fox News report, China infiltrated America’s cyber infrastructure over a year ago. Undetected.
Here are the targets we now know about: a water utility in Hawaii, a port on the U.S. West Coast, and an oil and gas pipeline.
There are probably many more. In fact, the Washington Post reports this about hackers associated with China’s People’s Liberation Army. They’ve gained access to at least 25 critical U.S. systems.
Their goal is to disrupt logistics, create chaos, and cause panic. And it works. It wasn’t that long ago that a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline caused fuel prices to rise on our East Coast. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) got involved quickly.
Attacking From Within
Jen Easterly is director of the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. She was reported as saying that Chinese cyber activity used to be centered on political and economic espionage.
Now it’s focused on gaining a foothold in America’s cyber infrastructure for an obvious reason. China desires the ability to cause a cascading cyberattack against the U.S. to accomplish its goals.
Some U.S. power companies are better protected than others. But they are all vulnerable to attacks by Chinese hackers.
A power grid privately operated in Texas has been under a cyberattack in recent months. As have several electric utilities outside the U.S.
Taiwan at Center of Hawaii Attack
Some may wonder why the Chinese have targeted Hawaii. Others feel the answer is obvious. China has made no secret of the fact that it wants to “reunify” with Taiwan. Taiwan wishes to remain independent.
China could potentially disrupt an American response to its attack on Taiwan with a cyberattack in Hawaii just prior to its physical attack.
What is America doing to protect itself from cyberattacks from China? The National Security Agency is encouraging utilities to make their security more robust.
Among their recommendations are the use of physical security keys. As well as hardware tokens for protection of property and intelligence files.
How to Protect Yourself
Individual Americans can also help protect themselves from cyberattacks. Here are five ways to do that:
- Regularly update and strengthen passwords. Use a mix of characters, numbers, and symbols.
- Enable multi-factor authentication on all personal accounts.
- Remain vigilant against phishing attempts. Don’t click on suspicious links or download attachments from unknown sources.
- Keep all software up to date with the latest security patches. Including antivirus and operating systems.
- Be cautious about the amount of personal information shared online.
Japan & South Korea Scramble Jets
Now back to provocative actions taken outside of cyberspace. Recently South Korea and Japan scrambled its jets. That was in response to Chinese and Russian warplanes entering their defense zones.
For you aircraft buffs, the planes were China’s H-6, J-16 and Y-8. And Russia’s Tu-95 and Su-35. They were flying toward the East China Sea through the channel between Japan and South Korea.
The aircraft did not violate South Korea’s territorial airspace. That’s protected by international laws. But they did enter the country’s Air Defense Identification Zone.
Russian officials justify their actions by saying they don’t recognize South Korea’s air defense zone. Chinese officials say that because the zone is not in territorial airspace, there is no violation.
What Do You Think?
As I mentioned earlier, we at 4Patriots are very interested in your opinions. We believe we’re living in very scary times.
It feels like we’re sitting on a powder keg. And all it would take is one more provocative move by a foreign power to launch an all-out war.
In fact, we’re already at war when it comes to technology. A number of countries are doing everything they can to disrupt life here by causing security breaches. As well as in other freedom-loving countries.
What do you think about what’s going on in the world today? And what the future looks like for Americans?
