When it comes to cyberwar and cyberterrorism, we need to think the unthinkable, says veteran TV journalist Ted Koppel. And for Koppel, the unthinkable is this: Someone hacks into the nation's electric power grid and causes large parts of it to crash for a prolonged period.
Anyone who has endured a blackout from a storm or mechanical breakdown — probably most Americans — knows how frustrating and infuriating it can be. You lose your lights, refrigeration, communications and sense of control. But two certitudes limit the anger and anxiety: first, outages are usually small geographically; and second, we know that power will be restored in days or weeks.
Not so with a cyberattack, which aims to cripple the system and cause chaos. Lengthy disruptions may be widespread. Then the effects become horrific, as Koppel writes in his new book "Lights Out."