A Cyber Attack Could Disrupt an Entire Home

Imagine what would happen if suddenly there were no cell phone service, no electrical power, no water and no food. But that’s not all. Imagine if there were no functioning banks and financial institutions, automobiles, trucks and computers stopped working, railroads were unable to roll and airplanes were unable to fly, hospitals were unable to function and grocery store shelves went unfilled. According to Robin Burk, Ph.D., MBA, such a scenario is possible should portions of America’s computer networks, electric grid etc. be hit by a short burst of electromagnetic energy from the type of nuclear weapon North Korea has already tested – or by crippling cyber-attacks.  She says it is only prudent to start planning now for potential attacks that could badly disrupt the systems we rely on.

Burk’s message is all the more powerful because of who she is: She was in charge of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s interdependent networks research and is an expert on network science. The DTRA is an organization tasked with safeguarding national infrastructure against weapons of mass destruction.

A knowledgeable expert known for her ability to simplify technical concepts for layman, Burk can share:

• What to expect in an electromagnetic pulse attack (i.e. rotting food in grocery stores and farm fields).
• What is being done to prevent such an attack and what still needs to be done.
• Steps ordinary people should begin taking now to become self-reliant. These include planting a vegetable garden, stocking up on canned goods and dried foods and building relationships with food growers.

About Robin Burk

Robin Burk holds a doctorate in information (Artificial Intelligence), from State University of New York at Albany and an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flager Business School. She is a former assistant professor at West Point where she helped establish an innovation center focusing on network science for military challenges. Burk has been featured in Wired and on MSNBC. She is the author of the upcoming book We Don’t Have to Collapse But We Could:
How to Fix the Complex Systems We Rely On.

SOURCE Robin Burk