The Department of Energy's nuclear weapons office and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are the latest agencies swept up in a staggering hack of global computer networks.
As the effects of climate change begin to take a tangible toll, should we be thinking more seriously about geoengineering? Maybe. But if we do, we need to think carefully about the ethics as well as the technology.
How are cyber security and environmental health linked? Just look at the health mess – still! – in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria leveled the grid.
While at first glance this story would appear unrelated to environmental health, it actually covers a story of vital importance to the environment, health, and climate change.
Cybersecurity attacks could take down parts or all of the utility grid, or other important components of a country's infrastructure, including in the United States. A few days without grid would be tolerable, but some plausible scenarios involve weeks or months—or longer—down times. Check out Ted Koppel's book "Lights Out."
A few weeks without a functioning grid would be devastating. Consider what the Hurricane Maria did to health, water supply, food security and more on Puerto Rico.
From the Reuters story:
Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are launching daily cyber strikes on the computer networks of federal, state and local government agencies, U.S. corporations, and academic institutions, said Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats.
Of the four, "Russia has been the most aggressive foreign actor, no question," he said.
