Two high-tech destroyers run into civilian ships in two months?
17 June the USS Fitzgerald hit a container ship. Seven sailors dead.
21 August the USS McCain hit an oil tanker. Ten sailors missing.
I don’t believe these are accidents. This is cyber-warfare.
I have no proof. I just have logic.
These are ships that are designed to seek out and destroy targets in the chaos of warfare. But can’t “see” other ships several times their size during peacetime? Our Navy is highly trained and the best equipped in the world. Once maybe. Twice in two months goes beyond coincidence.
There are those who want to blame training. Cut backs. Whatever. Blame, blame, blame. Faux “News” is blaming Obama. Of course. But perhaps, yes, he is at fault, but not in the way they think. He authorized the use of Stuxnet against the Iranians years ago. That was an act of war. But it wasn’t the first cyber warfare. I’ve been researching this for my next book, Hallows Eve, where one of the missions is Zero Day. I had never heard that term before– now I know too much that I really wish I didn’t know. We are unbelievably vulnerable to cyber attack across a wide array of targets. Someone showing that they can take over a Navy warship is telegraphing a very potent message. Especially in that part of the world.
I’m not saying the Iranians did this. My money is on the Chinese. A show of force. We know the Chinese have hacked into California’s power grid several times. But even the North Koreans might have the power.
Just as Russia did a show of force during our election. None of those countries can project military power at long range like the US. But the Internet? Heck. We’re all standing next to each other.
What happened to Flight MH 370 which disappeared on 8 March 2014? A test run to see how easy it is to take over the controls of a civilian airliner? We also had an Osprey crash off the coast of Australia earlier this month. I’ve been searching for a follow up on that, since the wreckage was discovered, but in vain. No clue if its connected to the two ship collisions.
Here’s the thing. If planes and ships are getting hacked, the powers-that-be WILL NOT announce this news. Can you imagine the panic? If military planes and ships can get hacked and crashed, the world would grind to a halt. No one would fly. It would make 9–11 look minor.
Did you know that the largest unit in the Israeli Army is now Unit 8200? Ambitious youngsters no longer want to get into their elite Special Forces, Shayetet 13. They want in 8200. It is their signals intelligence unit. Think cyber war unit. And it is the LARGEST.
When I say the Navy has to go Battlestar Galactica, for those unfamiliar with the series, especially the superb reboot, it means we’ve got to start getting our military unplugged. Go back to basics. The Army has to stop relying on GPS and computers for targeting and communications. Every industry, every business, every person, has to seriously consider how vulnerable they are to cyber attack. How to counter it. What to do when, not if, the attack comes. And we’re not just talking by other countries. I have no doubt that a number of industries and businesses have already been held hostage by cyber blackmail. What will X Airlines do if someone takes control of one of their planes? Pay and keep it quiet.
There is a war between countries, waged by terrorists, waged by greedy individuals and groups, waged by our own country, going on every second. We have got to wake up and take it seriously.
There’s a barely watched series on Amazon Video titled Cyberwar. I highly recommend watching it. Here is the trailer.
Originally published at bobmayer.com on August 21, 2017.
