During the 2016 presidential debates, moderator Chris Wallace of MSNBC asked the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton about an "open borders" remark made to Brazilian bankers in a paid speech that came to light via Wikileaks.
In her attempt to walk the remark back said she that the statement had been in reference to green energy. "I was talking about energy. You know, we trade more energy with our neighbors than we trade with the rest of the world combined," Clinton said. "And I do want us to have an electric grid, an energy system that crosses borders. I think that will be of great benefit to us."
An international energy grid? That sounds like a potential disaster for many reasons, the most important of all being the logistics of attempting to secure such a massive endeavor.
Besides the obvious dangers from an attack with explosives or a nuclear electromagnetic pulse, the U.S. would have to rely on other countries to properly secure the computer systems maintaining that energy grid to ensure Americans are not sent to the Dark Ages with a single keystroke from a terrorist hacker.
The modernization of jihad tactics via new online methods has reached a new level of accessibility as many governmental computer networks are potentially exposed to new methods of mayhem.
Even domestic businesses are in danger of emerging malware threats with infections like CryptoLocker Ransomware, which continually attack computers from all over the world.
Sadly, it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see a terrorist utilize threats similar to ransomware that have evolved to not only hold a personal computer's files for ransom as CryptoLocker does, but to infiltrate a system belonging to a governmental entity only to demand a form of retribution from a specific country or carry out a cyber-attack with monumental consequences.
We are at a critical point after last week’s chemical weapons attack by Syria and the swift and powerful U.S. response has us potentially on the doorstep of a largescale international conflict. It’s incumbent upon the U.S. government to stay on top of its network security to ensure the safety of our energy, water, and nuclear weaponry systems.
The possibilities and thoughts of potential devastation are virtually endless when it comes to a terrorist armed to deploy the latest viruses. It would behoove governments from the U.S. and globally to get a grasp on their cybersecurity now rather than later when it is too late, and we have a major crisis on our hands that does more than just shake up the political landscape.
We already know how the CIA has allegedly leveraged countless devices to spy on people. What’s there to stop hackers from doing the same thing?
Business as usual does not exist in an ever changing world of advancing technology.
President Trump must ensure that he indeed hires the best people to protect the networking interests of the American people who have potentially seen the results of their last national election compromised by a foreign government’s cyber intervention.
Julio Rivera is an entrepreneur, small business consultant and political activist. He contributes to RightWingNews.com and NewsNinja2012.com, and had previously covered boxing and baseball for the now defunct "The Urban News" in his native Paterson, N.J. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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