Lights Out: A Cyberattack, a Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath

This is a great book that highlights the vulnerabilities we have acquired with the internet, the utter lack of preparation by birth the government and civil society as well as some lack of solidarity from the private sector. This book greatly benefits from Mr. Koppel’s inquisitive questions. The great interviewer we saw in Nightline (and we miss, too) shows up along the book. Very interesting book, we all need to read. However, although written in 2015 could benefit from an update. Between this book, David Sanger’s A Perfect Weapon, and Nicole Perlroth’s “This is How They Tell Me The World Ends” we have reason to be wary about how we’ll handle a cyber attack

I bought this book on my phone. I have read it probably 3 times now. I usually read it when I am waiting for something--> you know the car repair, oil change, doctor's appt, airport, picking people up or for a meeting to start... I saw one negative review that there is no new information... and maybe that is right... but, the information is good. What we do with the 'awful truth' is the difficult part in the book. What do we do with the very real likelihood of something very terrible happening?A good friend is responsible for planning for a county in the event of a catastrophe. He told me of the dire realities after even a few days. I have read accounts of the things that transpired after Katrina. I have no real way to explain away what is likely, so, now it is to try and figure out how a small family makes it through and to seriously consider if it is even something that we should desire.This is a book worth reading and acting upon. If you cannot grasp that... the book will only puzzle you.

This book was recommended by the person well placed in a state government; and from the e-mail that was sent out, guess he got a little freaked. from one perspective, this is a GREAT book. It's four stars reflect its somewhat dry presentation, as well as the slightly misleading title. Lets be honest here, Ted Koppel is a straight up newsman, a true investigative reporter, a journalist. Because of his reputation he has access to people and facts that the rest of us can only guess at. And the story he tells here, about the condition of our electrical supply equipment and readiness is scary. What are the odds something will happen to our nation's power supply. sadly, getting smaller every day. The equipment continues to age, the infrastructure ages, the computers that manage and interconnect it all are difficult to replace, people are careless and easily distracted. And that's if it fails because of a hurricane, a weather event, a small act of terrorism. A larger act of terrorism or an EMP could take the whole country down, and after reading this book, you will question whether it could be brought back up in a year or longer! Yeah, scary S**T! By the time you finish reading this book, you will be either a believer and start prepping, or you will laugh him off the air and go about your life without giving it a second thought. and that's where this book lost its 5th star. the subtitle is surviving the aftermath, and within that, its a little light beyond the usual of have some extra food on hand, some water, some flashlights. Of course, not everyone is going to turn into a full blown prepper or conspiracy nut, nor does everyone have the space and resources to do so. But when Ted Koppel tells you it would be prudent to be prepared with a few weeks of supplies, a lot of people will listen. And well they should.

This book does a good job presenting all the different issues around the way our electrical grid is set up, how it could be compromised, and what the dire consequences would be of such an action. It is dramatic, but I don't think the author is exaggerating when he describes what could happen if we let Russia or China in to our electrical grid - though they may already be in there. Before reading, I really had no idea how antiquated and interconnected everything was, let alone that the utilities basically govern themselves. Politicians have ignored the problem for years, causing the situation to become worse and worse. Several of the current and former officials Ted talked to said that this was a serious issue, that there wasn't any disaster recovery plan in place, that no one really knows what department is responsible if something would happen, and that nothing is being done to plan for this. This book provides a wake-up call that we need to act now, before it's too late.

For years, people have warned of the devastation an EMP attack could cause. Politicians have ignored the threat, preferring to give money to their cronies than to shore up the vulnerable electrical grid. At least we have a partial missile defense system in place, but our illustrious leaders even make that political. Why would a defense system that protects us from the apocalypse be a partisan issue? Isn't defense the government's primary job? Koppel lays out the facts in this troubling wake-up call for all of us. Also check out the novels  One Second After  and  The Perseid Collapse  for novelizations of what will happen after an EMP strike.

Not sure why I bought this, thought it might be a decent read, but it was not. To believe that the power grid isn't vulnerable is idiotic, to believe that the government cares about US and should regulate ANYTHING is even more idiotic, and finally to believe that power industry was broken up to kill any monopoly means you're truly blind to how the world works.TRASH OF A BOOK! AVOID!

Waste of money. Here is everything you will learn from reading this book: Everyone Ted Koppel interviewed believes the cyber attack will occur at some point in the future and might knock out the power grid, everyone further believes that nothing is being done to prevent it or prepare for its impact. The only group of people who seem to be prepared are the Mormons. There. You have just learned everything you will learn from reading all of the pages. No thoughts on what you should do to prepare. Just interview after interview of people paid to protect us saying that they understand what might be coming and admitting that they won't be able to save us.

Deeply worrying.When I trained as a nurse all the equipment was NOT electrifyed i.e. by the end of our training we had taken hundreds of blood pressures ect,Now, machines do the work - are they accurate - what happens when they fial?Best wishes,Marg.

I didn't need convincing that a Cyberattack is likely to come soon, although for those who aren't convinced the book does a good job here. I bought the book to get some advice on how best to prepare for such an event. Having finished it I am non the wiser. I was already building up supplies so I can be self sufficient through most types of disaster after reading the excellent 'Bugging In, Bugging Out'. Koppel's book basically tells us we're all screwed (unless you live in a remote area, are self sufficient and have guns & ammo to fight off those coming for your supplies)!

ok

Scary by realistic, - as the April 2017 Wanna Cry virus has amply demonstrated. A wake up call!

this is exactly what I think will happen. Very important to read.