This Will Be the Next Pandemic

Before Covid-19 blew up our lives, the following things were true:

We knew it was coming.

For decades, experts were shrieking about an inevitable global pandemic.

The Obama administration even convened a pandemic task force.

We ignored the fact that it was coming.

Yup! We did! The Trump administration disbanded the pandemic task force.

National reaction was a collective shrug.

We had no preparedness plan.

At the start of 2020, China supplied 43% of the world’s medical protective gear.

Every expert pinpointed China as the place a pandemic would start. Yet we could connect the dots on how this would play out: Massive shortages of PPE when it was needed most.

The pandemic affected education, travel, food & beverage, entertainment, supply chain, fitness centers, massage therapists, finance, housing, and commercial real estate, to name just a few.

Like medical supplies, each one of these sectors needed a plan and did not have one.

The Next Pandemic-Impact Event Is a Massive Cyber Attack

We are headed for a cyber-attack whose societal impact will be every bit as big as Covid 19 or bigger. As above — We know it’s coming; we don’t care; and we’re not prepared.

The hack will have the same features as a global pandemic:

1. Vast repercussions

Last week’s Colonial Pipeline hack shut down 50% of the East Coast’s fuel supplies.

Here are 3 other high-probability targets and their predicted impact:

Electrical Grid Hack: Global shut down of financial sector, refineries, and water supply.

Medical Information System Hack: Inability for one or more hospital systems to access medical records; Surgeries, cancer treatment, and dispensing of drugs grind to a half.

Food Supply Chain Hack: A major food manufacturer’s products are contaminated. Loss of trust in the entire food supply.

This is not a complete list. Think water supply. Think air traffic control. Think global logistics. Think meltdown.

These hacks could occur simultaneously.

2. Inability to control the source of the attack.

Like the bat-soup enthusiasts in China, hackers ply their trade no matter what actions governments or law-enforcement bodies take.

The Biden Administration is expected to announce an executive order to strengthen America’s cyber defenses.

Good luck with that!

Why?

No treaties + No extraditions + No accountability = No prevention.

3. Fixing it takes time.

It took a year to get a vaccine. Massive cyber hacks need fixing much faster.

After a week without fuel, electricity, or major sources of food, things get dicey. There was violence over toilet paper. Imagine if people needed to protect their families’ sustenance for the next month.

Colonial Pipeline is being mealy-mouthed about how soon they can have fuel reserves up and running again.

The only good news: Dark Side, responsible for the pipeline hack, specializes in ransomware. They get paid and you get your system back. It’s like a coronavirus, but one you can bribe.

Other cybercriminal groups are not as easy to deal with. Like a cause-focused group who wants to make a point. Or a nation-state bent on bringing the US to its knees.

That’s like a coronavirus with an ax to grind, one that’s out to get you.

A massive, destructive cyber-attack is coming. As with a pandemic, it’s inevitable.

While you can’t stop it, there are ways to plan for its impact.

Stay tuned for “Ways to Stop the Next Pandemic.”