It can happen. It has happened. It will happen again. Review of NatGeo Channel's American Blackout

I had the opportunity to review UK’s Blackout a while back and it depicted a pretty realistic world after a cyberattack. But it was in the UK so really didn’t hit home - I mean ... that can't happen here, right? But when I was asked by National Geographic Channel’s to review their new docudrama “AmericanBlackout” aslo featuring a cyberattack I was curious to how much it paralleled with the UK’s attack.

americanblackout_10 As I watched American Blackout, all I could think of was “I really wish everyone would watch this.” I mean really. Why? Because it shows that disasters happen at any time of the day – or night … and happen where you are at that very instance – they don’t wait until you get home as we have all mentally planned for - you may not be anywhere near your coveted go-bag.

The disaster featured in American Blackout as I mentioned is a cyberattack; … a VERY REAL possibility; causing power surges and physically damaging electrical equipment and dramatizes what 10 days of a catastrophic blackout across the United States would look like - no cell phone service, ATM withdrawals, no nothing, that is, with the exception of total darkness and eventually … panic, desperation and hostility.

Hacking into urban infrastructures isn’t science fiction anylonger; cyber threats and the weaknesses of the grid are in the news every day. Leon Panetta, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, said: “The next Pearl Harbor we confront could very well be a cyber-attack that cripples our power systems, our grid, our security systems, our financial systems.”

I likened American Blackout to a cross between “The Blair Witch Project” and “After Armageddon”. We are so used to seeing events being captured every day in real time on cellphones and cameras, so this is the shooting style of American Blackout, done through the eyes of the victims in real time through the use of their cell phones and cameras. I will give this caveat, here are times, if you are like me (the one who held everyone’s jackets and waited while your friends went on the thrill rides), that your stomach can get a little … queasy. Also, to make this docudrama even more realistic, footage has been used from past real blackouts and disasters.

americanblackout_06 Some facts of note while watching American Blackout; the U.S. electrical grid connects Americans to 5,800 major power plants and includes more than 450,000 miles of high voltage transmission lines.

Gulp factor: seventy percent of key power grid components are more than 25 years old, and the average age of power plants tops 30 years (see what I mean?)

Gulp factor: a 2013 congressional report on grid vulnerability revealed that more than a dozen utilities reported “daily,” “constant” or “frequent” attempted cyberattacks, with one reporting approximately 10,000 attempts per month.

Gulp factor: In the past decade alone, an estimated 679 widespread power outages occurred due to severe weather, costing the U.S. an annual average between $18 billion and $33 billion. Huge gulp factor: The Department of Homeland Security testified this past spring that it had processed 68 percent more cyber incidents involving federal agencies, critical infrastructure and other select industrial entities in 2012 than in 2011. It also warned of an increase in cyber activity that seemed to be based in the Middle East, including Iran.

Even bigger gulp factor: In light of the growing cyberattack threat, security experts have called on Congress to provide a federal entity with the necessary authority to ensure that the grid is protected from potential cyberattacks. Yet Congress has not provided any governmental entity with that authority.

The scary part? America’s energy, water, communications and financial networks are intricately connected. So, even minor disruptions can cause major disruptions of our lives … but a major outage … could be the end of our world as we know it.

American Blackoutfocuses onfive different storylines: A family about to have a baby in California, and using a handycam; a teenage guerrilla filmmaker in Austin; students in an elevator in Arizona using their phone cameras; a New York City couple trapped in a penthouse filming with their phone camera; and a prepper family in Colorado using a camcorder. americanblackout_05

Unlike the other Americans portrayed in American Blackout, the preppers have a generator that provides charging capabilities for their camcorder and have stockpiled prep supplies. But when the SHTF, even then, it shows how unprepared and vunerable the “prepared” can be.

Starting with the street lights going out, roadways gridlocked (in urban areas), people trapped on subways and in elevators, ATMs unavailable, and initially neighborhood blackout parties, civil unrests soon begins with people do things they never thought imaginable. FEMA Camps are setup, crime and looting begins, Martial law is enacted and subsequently the UN is called in for assistance. Disasters don’t discriminate so even the rich are victims in this scenario.

It is my hope that after watching American Blackout that people will really take a long hard look at their lives and their vulnerabilities BEFORE something like this happens. Because - It can happen. It has happened. It will happen again.