Nicole Perlroth

You are right now a prime target for a catastrophic Chinese cyber attack. You are the new front line. And the reason you have to worry about this right now is because in order to destroy or disable any of those systems, you don't just hack them the day you attack. You have to get in there well ahead of time. Here's Dale Peterson. You may remember Dale from the last episode.

You are right now a prime target for a catastrophic Chinese cyber attack. You are the new front line. And the reason you have to worry about this right now is because in order to destroy or disable any of those systems, you don't just hack them the day you attack. You have to get in there well ahead of time. Here's Dale Peterson. You may remember Dale from the last episode.

He specializes in the security of critical systems.

He specializes in the security of critical systems.

Stuxnet, if you'll recall, was a surgical U.S.-Israeli cyber strike that sabotaged Iran's nuclear program. But Stuxnet's code was only half the magic. The other half was in the years of preparation, the groundwork, learning the system, sneaking the code in on a USB stick, the pre-positioning. And that is exactly what China is doing with its living off the land attacks.

Stuxnet, if you'll recall, was a surgical U.S.-Israeli cyber strike that sabotaged Iran's nuclear program. But Stuxnet's code was only half the magic. The other half was in the years of preparation, the groundwork, learning the system, sneaking the code in on a USB stick, the pre-positioning. And that is exactly what China is doing with its living off the land attacks.

Only this isn't a precision strike. It's a mass infiltration campaign targeting hundreds of critical systems, power, water. And these systems, they're far easier to infiltrate than Iran's nuclear lab. The bulk of our gas, our water pipelines were built decades ago when their primary threat was a tree root, not nation state hackers.

Only this isn't a precision strike. It's a mass infiltration campaign targeting hundreds of critical systems, power, water. And these systems, they're far easier to infiltrate than Iran's nuclear lab. The bulk of our gas, our water pipelines were built decades ago when their primary threat was a tree root, not nation state hackers.

Volt Typhoon, China's elite infrastructure hackers, have radically changed the calculus. For now, they're lurking, lying in wait. The fear is, what happens when, or if, they decide to detonate on the access they already have? The everything, everywhere, all at once cyber attack.

Volt Typhoon, China's elite infrastructure hackers, have radically changed the calculus. For now, they're lurking, lying in wait. The fear is, what happens when, or if, they decide to detonate on the access they already have? The everything, everywhere, all at once cyber attack.

To state it plainly, should they so choose, the PRC has the capability to cut off our access to water, power, transportation, gas, and a shutdown might be our best case scenario. The worst case scenario, it's almost too gruesome to spell out, but we've caught flashes.

To state it plainly, should they so choose, the PRC has the capability to cut off our access to water, power, transportation, gas, and a shutdown might be our best case scenario. The worst case scenario, it's almost too gruesome to spell out, but we've caught flashes.

Saudi Arabia, 2017. Russian hackers got into Petro-Rabig, a major petrochemical facility, and were able to shut off the safety locks that prevent an explosion. Hackers have already demonstrated they have the ability to contaminate our drinking water by hacking into the chemical controls at water treatment facilities. Now, none of these scenarios have come to fruition.

Saudi Arabia, 2017. Russian hackers got into Petro-Rabig, a major petrochemical facility, and were able to shut off the safety locks that prevent an explosion. Hackers have already demonstrated they have the ability to contaminate our drinking water by hacking into the chemical controls at water treatment facilities. Now, none of these scenarios have come to fruition.

But what these incidents and Colonial Pipeline and Stuxnet before them did show was the art of the possible. With China's strategic embedding of our critical infrastructure, they could do more than cut off access to power, water, gas. They could contaminate the drinking water, trigger explosions at pipelines and chemical factories, send planes colliding or trains careening off track.

But what these incidents and Colonial Pipeline and Stuxnet before them did show was the art of the possible. With China's strategic embedding of our critical infrastructure, they could do more than cut off access to power, water, gas. They could contaminate the drinking water, trigger explosions at pipelines and chemical factories, send planes colliding or trains careening off track.

And in the everything everywhere all at once cyber scenario, they could do it all simultaneously. We just had a very real glimpse of what happens when air traffic control goes dark over one of the busiest air spaces in the country. And that was just for 90 seconds.

And in the everything everywhere all at once cyber scenario, they could do it all simultaneously. We just had a very real glimpse of what happens when air traffic control goes dark over one of the busiest air spaces in the country. And that was just for 90 seconds.

Now imagine that wasn't an accident. Imagine it was a coordinated cyber assault, one that didn't just hit Newark, but air traffic control nationwide. What political appetite do you really think we'll have to support an island 7,000 miles away when we can't get internet, we're under a boil order, flights are grounded, or worse? I think we all know the answer, and Beijing does too.

Now imagine that wasn't an accident. Imagine it was a coordinated cyber assault, one that didn't just hit Newark, but air traffic control nationwide. What political appetite do you really think we'll have to support an island 7,000 miles away when we can't get internet, we're under a boil order, flights are grounded, or worse? I think we all know the answer, and Beijing does too.