Lights Out

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In this tour de force of investigative reporting, Ted Koppel reveals that a major cyberattack on America s power grid is not only possible but likely, that it would be devastating, and that the United States is shockingly unprepared Imagine a blackout lasting not days, but weeks or months Tens of millions of people over several states are affected For those without access to a generator, there is no running water, no sewage, no refrigeration or light Food and medical supplies are dwindling Devices we rely on have gone dark Banks no longer function, looting is widespread, and law and order are being tested as never before It isn t just a scenario A well designed attack on just one of the nation s three electric power grids could cripple much of our infrastructure and in the age of cyberwarfare, a laptop has become the only necessary weapon Several nations hostile to the United States could launch such an assault at any time In fact, as a former chief scientist of the NSA reveals, China and Russia have already penetrated the grid And a cybersecurity advisor to President Obama believes that independent actors from hacktivists to terrorists have the capability as well It s not a question of if, says Centcom Commander General Lloyd Austin, it s a question of when And yet, as Koppel makes clear, the federal government, while well prepared for natural disasters, has no plan for the aftermath of an attack on the power grid The current Secretary of Homeland Security suggests keeping a battery powered radio.In the absence of a government plan, some individuals and communities have taken matters into their own hands Among the nation s estimated three million preppers, we meet one whose doomsday retreat includes a newly excavated three acre lake, stocked with fish, and a Wyoming homesteader so self sufficient that he crafted the thousands of adobe bricks in his house by hand We also see the unrivaled disaster preparedness of the Mormon church, with its enormous storehouses, high tech dairies, orchards, and proprietary trucking company the fruits of a long tradition of anticipating the worst But how, Koppel asks, will ordinary civilians survive With urgency and authority, one of our most renowned journalists examines a threat unique to our time and evaluates potential ways to prepare for a catastrophe that is all but inevitable. Best Read [ Lights Out ] author [ Ted Koppel ] – kino-fada.fr Nightline with Ted Koppel was a show that was on occasionally in my house when I was growing up My family respected Ted Koppel, so I guess some of that was installed subconsciously in me So much stuff got inadvertently crammed into my small mind space so stop the judging of me He has since retired and decided on try his hat as an author He takes on somewhat the fear of a cyber attack on America s electric internet infrastructure I say somewhat because I felt like he just glazed the surfac Nightline with Ted Koppel was a show that was on occasionally in my house when I was growing up My family respected Ted Koppel, so I guess some of that was installed subconsciously in me So much stuff got inadvertently crammed into my small mind space so stop the judging of me He has since retired and decided on try his hat as an author He takes on somewhat the fear of a cyber attack on America s electric...Darkness Extended periods of darkness, longer andprofound than anyone not living in one of America s great cities has ever known As power shuts down there is darkness and the sudden loss of electrical conveniences As batteries lose power, there isgradual failure of cell phones, portable radios, and flashlights Emergency generators provide pockets of light and power, but there is little running water anywhere Emergency supplies of bottled water are too scarce to use for anything Darkness Extended periods of darkness, longer andprofound than anyone not living in one of America s great cities has ever known As power shuts down there is darkness and the sudden loss of electrical conveniences As batteries lose power, there isgradual failure of cell phones, portable radios, and flashlights Emergency generators provide pockets of light and power, but there is little running water anywhere Emergency supplies of bottled water are too scarce to use for anything but drinking, and there is nowhere to replenish the supply Disposal of human waste becomes an issue within days this goes on quite a bitForget the zombie apocalypse Ted Koppel, a very level headed newsman, has brought to light a glaring soft spot in our national defense that could very well be exploited by enemies of the USA And we are not talking about something like the regional blackouts that have already occurred here This will not be your fathe...In my online book collection I have a shelf assigned to dystopian novels such as The Stand, The Walking Dead, and The Day of the Triffids Once, in a somewhat whimsical mood, I renamed it my we re all gonna die shelf Lights out, Ted Koppel s Investigation into the threat that a cyberattack directed against our electrical grid, gets the dubious honor of being the first non fiction book to be placed on that shelf.Veteran newsman Koppel, with a consummate skill born of 42 years spent with ABC, lay In my online book collection I have a shelf assigned to dystopian novels such as The Stand, The Walking Dead, and The Day of the Triffids Once, in a somewhat whimsical mood, I renamed it my we re all gonna die shelf Lights out, Ted Koppel s Investigation into the threat that a cyberattack directed against our electrical grid, gets the dubiou...This reminded me of the adage about public speaking tell them what you re going to say say it tell them what you just said and then recap Koppel had one thing to say, the power grid in the US is highly vulnerable to attack And he said it and said it again and then said it again for about 175 pages He obviously interviewed a lot of people, all of whom confirmed his fears about our vulnerability, but they all said the same thing The last part of the book focused on the Mormons and on th This reminded me of the adage about public speaking tell them what you re going to say say it tell them what you just said and then recap Kopp...Ted Koppel s expose on what will happen when we have a massive failure of the power grid We all know that this could happen and it would be a disaster, I really didn t need Ted Koppel to tell me that I think what irks me the most is that power companies are hesitant to do any disaster planning because it affects their bottom line If the government by which I mean we the people force companies to have some sort of disaster recovery, it s called regulation and we have every politician vowing Ted Koppel s expose on what will happen when we have a massive failure of the power grid We all know that this could happen and it would be a disaster, I really didn t need Ted Koppel to tell me that I thin...Growing up in Oklahoma I experienced my fair share of power outages Tornadoes, dust devils, heat lightening, hail the size of grapefruits, ice storms and whiteouts You name it, sans hurricanes, if it s wild and crazy weather, it happens in Oklahoma And when the lights go out, along with every other electronic device, life becomes a whole different ballgame A bit scary Absolutely Eerily quiet Unnervingly so Annoying and inconvenient Darn right If power remains out forthan a couple Growing up in Oklahoma I exper...I finished reading this book a few weeks ago It caused me to intensify my doomsday prepping No, I am NOT kidding For this and other reasons, I have been so busy that I cannot squeeze the time to write a review I, therefore, urge everyone to read Will Byrnes brilliant review of this book Here is the link After finishing reading the above book, I read Electric A...It was good to hear Ted Koppel s voice again, but oh God, please don t let something like this happen No electricity No internet No Goodreads Seriously, according to the book it is estimated that only 1 in 10 Americans would survive a year without electricity Imagine all the equipment the infirmed require, imagine all the refrigeration required for food and drugs, imagine not being able to pump gas, imagine no generators for lack of fuel, no heat, no air conditioning, no flushing toilets, di It was good to hear Ted Koppel s voice again, but oh God, please don t let something like this happen No electricity No internet No Goodreads Seriously, according to the book it i...Advanced reading copy review Due to be published October 27, 2015Ted Koppel is known to most Americans as the anchor of Nightline ABC News for 25 years In Lights Out he uses his journalism skills to alert us to perhaps the greatest current threat to America s security, cyber terrorism While the emphasis is on hackers bringing down our power grid, he also warns about attacks on our water systems, nuclear power plants and other potentially disastrous weak points in our infrastructure that ar Advanced reading copy review Due to be published October 27, 2015Ted Koppel is known to most Americans as the anchor of Nightline ABC News for 25 years In Lights Out he uses his jou...Here s this book in a nutshell The nation s power grid is woefully unprotected and unprepared for a direct assault, especially through a cyber attack Most of the rest of the book is rehashing this thesis with various data points and interviews with cyber warfare and electrical production experts Oh, and Mormon preparation for the collapse.It s not a bad book, by any means My biggest issue isn t the fact that the author details the ...

Lights Out
  • 11 September 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 279 pages
  • 055341996X
  • Ted Koppel
  • Lights Out