Could Putin's threats to the West refer to a potential major cyber attack? Rather than nuclear?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

Am I clutching at straws here?

If a major cyber attack took out the grid for example, it would be immediately catastrophic for us in the country that it happened in - but wouldn't have the same lasting effects as nuclear.

Not downplaying the gravity of an attack on the grid btw. But until last night, I was not concerned at all about a nuclear strike, and now I have to admit my mindset has shifted. And anything seems preferable to nukes, frankly.

Or does he just not care about mutual assured destruction anymore?

Yesterday I told DH to fill up the car and keep it topped up and get cash out, for exactly this reason. Biggest threat to us from Russia is cyber terrorism/attacks as retaliation for sanctions. Was also telling friends and patients. A few listened, but in laws think it's extreme. I don't see why, the cash will always be useful and the fuel will get used. Plan for the worst... I'll be very happy if we don't need it!

It will be a cyber attack. Cheaper and less messy than Nukes.

In a word. Yes.

Definitely makes sense to have a decent amount of cash in the house and keep the car topped up. Plus candles/torches/ a battery operated radio/ maybe a camping stove and extra gas cannisters.

Russian warships were very close to undersea data cables off the coast of Ireland recently, that can’t be a coincidence.

Russia will launch a cyber attack on just about anything - and they are outstandinly good at it. China is much the same and Russia's ally. Ukraine unfortunately were a sitting duck, they only have 19 cyber security analysts looking after national security and stood no chance.

The Wannacry outbreak which hit the NHS a few years ago involved the Russians (and the CIA) but was actually set off by North Korea.

@BorgQueen

Definitely makes sense to have a decent amount of cash in the house and keep the car topped up. Plus candles/torches/ a battery operated radio/ maybe a camping stove and extra gas cannisters. Russian warships were very close to undersea data cables off the coast of Ireland recently, that can’t be a coincidence.

We haven't put away the power cut supplies from last weekend, for this reason! It is sensible to prepare for potential threats, especially if that preparation is free.

What kind of back up plans are there for the grid in the UK, out of curiosity?

@BorgQueen

Definitely makes sense to have a decent amount of cash in the house and keep the car topped up. Plus candles/torches/ a battery operated radio/ maybe a camping stove and extra gas cannisters. Russian warships were very close to undersea data cables off the coast of Ireland recently, that can’t be a coincidence.

I'm always curious as to what people mean by a 'decent amount' of cash in this sort of scenario.

Email came around the whole of our NHS hospital site today, warning is to be especially vigilant and report anything unusual due to world events….

DH just had an email from Microsoft (he works for a partner company) saying staff will not be around tomorrow due to cyber attack risk 😫

There are a lot of back doors open right now when it comes to cyber vulnerabilities.

@SnotMikeUpPuffedHe enough to buy food and fuel for a few weeks, I can't imagine it would take more than a few days to fix access to banking/electronic payments, but I'd rather avoid the chaos and have cash ready. Not too much that losing it would be devastating.

[quote RagzRebooted]@SnotMikeUpPuffedHe enough to buy food and fuel for a few weeks, I can't imagine it would take more than a few days to fix access to banking/electronic payments, but I'd rather avoid the chaos and have cash ready. Not too much that losing it would be devastating.[/quote]
Yes.

I'd be hopeful a cyber strike could be stamped out in a few days, but the most sophisticated attacks are nightmarish in how the people working furiously to fix the system keep getting it back up and running for a few mins - then it all crashes again

They employ all kinds of tactics to make it look like the fix is working, with stupid diversions the send the tech folks off on a wild goose chase.

This is crazy. I just can't think of how a large city, or large region outside the cities, would cope with this stuff.

Yanbu
Russia has had a huge influence already on us through their actions on social media especially regarding Brexit, the Tories and anti vaxx shite. They know how to manipulate us, that can also shut us down.

Urrrgghh worrying reading this thread about whether I need tk withdraw cash/savings now 😭. Disel was already empty at local garage due to panic buying 😔

@CovidCorvid I think the attack you’re referring to was NotPetya, which was targeted at Ukraine but ‘escaped’ and had a lot of unintended consequences such as affecting the NHS. Apparently it also caused a lot of damage in Russia as well, so it’s fairly likely they’ve learned from that…

Disel was already empty at local garage due to panic buying

Gosh, really? Has panic buying started?

We don't have a car so totally clueless on fuel anxiety.