Ex-Pentagon Official: U.S. Hasn’t a ‘Fighting Chance’ Against Russian-Chinese Cyberattack
Russia could be laying the groundwork for a disruptive cyberattack against America’s energy and financial sectors, according to Nick Biasini, the head of outreach at Cisco Talos. Such a cyberattack would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a way to retaliate against the United States for sanctioning Russia’s economy without necessarily provoking a war. “The goal is to inflict pain in a way that they can walk back from,” Biasini told Foreign Policy. “They’re going to be going after where they can inflict damage, where they can actually cause pain.”
Many experts believe Russia does not have to physically harm U.S. infrastructure to cause problems but can instead hack into the software that underlies energy companies, like how the criminal group DarkSide hacked the Colonial Pipeline to the southeastern U.S. last year. Such an attack would drive American gasoline prices even higher at a time when rising energy costs are already pushing the nation toward recession.
A Russian cyberattack on America could be devastating. And Biasini is not the only one warning that such an attack is likely. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently warned five U.S. energy companies that computers using Russian Internet addresses were found in their networks. And Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said every U.S. sector is vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Joe Biden warned U.S. business leaders on March 21 that “evolving intelligence” suggests Russia is preparing cyberattacks against the U.S., while a former Pentagon official warned that China might be helping Russia in this endeavor. “Not many nations would be able to push back” if Russia and China combined their cyberwarfare capabilities, former U.S. Air Force chief software officer Nicolas Chaillan told Fox News. “I don’t even think the United States would be able to push back if tomorrow Russia and China decide to come together against us. I think it would be very difficult for us to be able to even have a fighting chance, let alone a nation like Ukraine.”
There is already some evidence that Russia and China are combining cyberwarfare capabilities. The London Times has reported that hackers based in China began targeting Ukrainian websites the day before Russia invaded. It is still unclear how many websites were targeted or whether the goal of the hackers was espionage or sabotage. But the fact that the hack occurred on February 23 raises questions about whether China had advanced notice of Russia’s invasion plans and whether China was deliberately trying to support Russian ambitions.
In his book Why Cuba Matters, Néstor Carbonell relates how Communist Cuba is helping both Russia and China develop their cyberwarfare capacities, so it is not a stretch of the imagination to think that both Cuban and Chinese hackers are helping Russian ambitions behind the scenes. Counterintelligence specialists routinely list Cuba, Russia and China as the top three espionage threats to the U.S., so they may be planning something.
Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry reported on cyberwarfare in 1995 when the public was dimly aware of how vulnerable a digital society could be. He emphasized a statement by Joseph DeCourcy: “Computer dependence is the Western world’s Achilles’ heel, and within a few years, this weakness could be tested to the full.”
In addition to the cybertheft of industrial and national security secrets through hacking, Mr. Flurry pointed to a sobering end-time Bible prophecy that could be fulfilled by a cyberattack. Ezekiel 7:14 says, “They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.” This verse says the trumpet will be blown in the nations descended from ancient Israel (primarily America and Britain). People are expecting the military to mobilize, but nobody goes to battle. Is this because of cyberterrorism? Will a cyberattack shut down U.S. communications systems or sabotage its nuclear deterrent?
Joe Biden may be trying to hype the threat of a Russian cyberattack for political reasons, but a real “cyber Pearl Harbor” is coming eventually. Intoxicated with success, Americans have forgotten God and rejected His law. They trust their military to save them from calamity, but Bible prophecy says this trust is misplaced.
Another sobering prophecy shows that just as America’s military reaches the zenith of its power, God cuts off its armaments and throws down its strongholds. He breaks its power. “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands” (Micah 5:10-13).
Today, Americans worship the work of their hands. Because of this, God says He will cut off the nation’s weapons systems and throw down its bases. That undoubtedly includes its advanced satellite systems and cyberdefenses. He will break not just the pride of America’s power—which He has already done (Leviticus 26:18-19)—but its literal power! This will prove the only path toward true safety and security is repentance toward God!
To learn more about what the Bible says about America’s misplaced trust in technology and a digital superpower America is overlooking, read Mr. Flurry’s updated article “America’s Achilles’ Heel—and Germany.”