Hold on to your hats, podna’… We might finally see some action.

After months of TheDonald averring that there was and is no hacking of American electoral systems, agencies denying that the Russians/Koreans/Chinese/Iranians are playing “Tickle me, Elmo” with our electric grid and water systems, our government is taking some (very small) steps!   (The official story behind these denials?  If we announce that our girds and water systems are vulnerable, we’ll encourage more attacks.  Yup.  Circular (il)logic abounds.)

The Departments of State, Treasury, and Defense (and maybe a few more) are finally developing programs to do their jobs- to protect Americans from foreign attack!

It didn’t hurt that a bunch of administration (yes, really) officials publicly recognized that America must prepare for a “catastrophic power outage” due to a cyberattack.  And, when that happens, panic and mass migration (that’s what they call it- I call it a stampede) will result.

It won’t surprise you to know (if you’ve been reading my blog- you have, right?) that our utility companies (we conventional folks call them public, since they issued stock to the public; our government calls them private, since it doesn’t own the utilities) are unable to protect their consumers from an attack.  The utilities lack the means (and, as far as I can tell, the interest) to protect the three primary electric grids (East Coast, West Coast, and Texas) in the US.

(These utilities feel content to blame such an attack on the grid as an act of war, one for which they feel no need to protect against.  One official [Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Company] actually claimed they “…want to know the Department of Defense is going to be there and hold people accountable.”  Obviously, certain that his company’s inaction will not be part of the accountability quotient.)

It seems that our response will be limited to responding directly to the hackers/hacking agencies as long as there is no collateral damage to civilians which means we won’t attack their utility grids, even though these countries’ spies and agents feel free to destroy ours.   More likely, our government will respond with indictments.  (Yeah, I can see Iran, North Korea, even Russia quaking in their boots- since they have no intention of extradicting a soul that may have been indicted.   Those indicted will only have to remain in their own countries to avoid arrest.)

Part of the reason for this tepid response is TheDonald.  He has indicated nothing nor has he endorsed more stringent methods.  Of course not, because he inanely thinks this is only about him.   And,  besides, Putin told him personally that the Russians weren’t involved.

Yes, TheDonald bought that bridge in the Sonora Desert.

Thankfully, the rest of the government (you know, the part that TheDonald calls ‘the Deep State’) is finally shedding its ostrich feathers.

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