Prepping for internet outage, AI disaster, cyber attacks etc

[Prepwithmum]

With all the news of AI escaping, possible Russian cyber attacks and disabling the Internet, is anyone else doing more now to prepare for near term SHTF. I don't mean all out death and destruction but the interim period where things like the banking system might fail or communication outages.

I always keep a little bit of cash at home, is anyone considering having a bigger stash? If so, how much?

How will you keep in touch with love ones if the systems go down?

I'm always stocked up with food and water, a few torches and not much else. What else should I consider?

I was just saying this to dh just now - thinking of taking some cash out and hiding it in the house. I am the furthest thing from a prepper but I can see the day coming when the internet is down and I think we have no idea what that will affect in supply/access to cash/etc. I came on here to see if there was a thread.

I’ve got some tins of tomato soup

A battery-powered radio, stash of cash, charged power banks, don't let any regular prescriptions run too low, ditto petrol in your car.

Printed list of contacts too. I'm guessing that supermarkets won't be open if the tills are out so not sure how much cash will be useful. £200??

How much is enough will vary so much between families. I always have enough cash for about a weeks worth of groceries and a tank of petrol in the house.

I am assuming our local corner shops will be able to take cash even if the bigger shops tills stop working. If not, then I've got shelf stable food and water for a good few days, and dog food and medication.

I've got alternative heating, lighting and cooking, albeit limited and basic. An open fire, a couple of wind up lanterns and a couple of primus stoves. The battery radio will keep me informed, and I've got books and crafts for entertainment.

If the petrol pumps go down, I don't want to have cans of petrol hanging about the place, so maybe just ensure that you don't go below half a tank?

I'm not obsessing over it though, I have done what I can do to mitigate the foreseeable emergencies, and now I am not fretting over it.

Snap!

Oh lordy, what if we lose PERMANENT access to our bank accounts!?

Like in the beginning of Handmaids Tale . . .

Things could get very rough, very quickly.

Well that's what I was thinking! That would be the SHTF big time...

No idea how much is enough and perhaps big supermarkets may not even open but I'm guessing smaller local shops will.

Thanks that's a sensible list.

I don't drive so I'd be screwed in a different sort of way!

Id suggest you spend some time reading other threads on this board. there is a lot of information. Think of it as extreme girl guiding/scouting. Being prepared/resilient in the UK is more about having well stocked cupboards and a productive garden than building bunkers.

There is a very strong chance of significant power issues due to the Saudi oil pipeline being attacked by the Houthis. Global oil supply has instantly dropped by about 5%. Thats very very significant and prices will increase as a direct result. Perhaps even more importantly they now have control over large parts of the red sea and global shipping routes are affected. Fertiiser supply has been massively impacted. This has a direct impact on the global food supply.

In all likelihood some parts of the world will face significant food shortages. Europe (and in particular the UK as an island) faces power shortages and noticeable price increases.

They won't be. If the power goes out completely due to cyber attack then very few shops will be open since they have electric doors, cctv, alarm systems which they are required to have for insurance purposes, bar code readers etc. And if they are open, they won't be for long since their stock will run out very quickly.

DH had a health scare and three times he needed an immediate assessment, with possible immediate operation at specialist hospital. Since then I tend to keep petrol topped up to half a tank, as it's the last thing I'd want to worry about in an emergency. In the short term though, for anyone needing to get to work (even if they're workplace can't function normally), it means people can get to work/check on a family member/friend.

Generally keep store cupboard well loaded, but really concentrating on this right now - would mean we can make some simple meals for a couple of weeks (I accidentally ordered too many gas cannisters this year😮).

For those accounts you haven't got on direct debit, ie pay as you receive bill, might be worth paying sooner, in case you can't get access and interest starts accruing. Hopefully accounts wouldn't be messed up totally, but ideally you'd be able to prove what you had in those accounts before they went down (this would be virtually impossible to keep up with as things would change from hour to hour).

Even the local corner shop might not be able to open for health and safety reasons, ie sufficient light/fire alarms.

Also, worth thinking about pets requirements, ie those that require heat/pump - what you can do to protect them if no power.

Don’t understand this obsession with cash. Even the simplest shop won’t be able to function without electricity as attested by my cash loving local hardware store. My understanding is you need 72 hours worth of food and drinking water. We have extra gas for our bbq so we can boil water / cook food on that. Tins and bottled water.

I'm thinking that a few days food and water is enough. If all systems go down then the government will be having to make arrangements - so announcements made via loud hailer around the locality, water bowsers bringing drinking water to central locations, food drops etc. Supermarkets will try to get generators up and running because nobody will want to lose the profit by being shut for too long. Supplies might be a little eccentric if communications are down, but food will come through gradually, even if it's rationed.

If its a weather emergency only affecting part of the country then this is probably correct.

If it's a cyber attack affecting our power or even just the internet then this is far less likely to be correct. The government can't make arrangements to distribute food and water that it simply doesn't have. There are no (or at least very few) warehouses full of supplies. If power/internet go down then distributing
what little there is becomes an incredibly difficult task. That is why the government is trying to encourage us to hold that emergency supply ourselves.

If you can up your emergency stash to a couple of weeks that would be a good precautionary move.

Well.

The fuel shortage this winter is going to be a problem before AI kills us...

You could be right. However I think that there are supplies - all supermarket warehouses will carry stock and the problem will come with distribution rather than obtaining supplies.

I know that I could survive for a couple of weeks on what is in the house, although if power goes out I'm going to be eating defrosted food cooked on the logburner for ages!

What fuel is going in those generators? This is kinda important as a detail right now.

What fuel is going in the supply trucks?

Y'know. Cos I'm a big tinfoilers who is reading the boring news not the dramatic news. Obviously.

Oil.

It's oil you should be worrying about over the next few weeks and months.

Not easy when the dr only allows one prescription a month.

I misread your title as ‘internet outrage’. Which is ever present, of course.

To be honest, I’ve stopped worrying about any of the issues as it’s looking like end is nigh anyway. Why prep for X when we’ll all be dead from Y?

It’s like Y2K all over again.

Agree that cash won’t be much use as all the shops use Internet for their tills now!

The supermarkets (including in their warehouses) hold three days worth of food.

that’s it

@RedToothBrushyou're always a font of knowledge on all things geo political - oil meaning Middle East situation? There’s not a lot Joe Bloggs can do to prep against that though is there? It will just get very very expensive to go anywhere in the car. And of course the now inevitable constant price rises in everything as their costs also go
up

What is the low down on this? Iran? I trust your posts Red!