How to prepare for a Cyber Attack

------------------------------------------------- Revised 03/09/2021
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Electronic Armageddon

How preppers can prepare for a cyber attack

The cure for a personal cyber attack: Norton

Prepper's Long-Term Survival Guide

Cyber Attack by Paul Day

Lights out by Ted Koppel

Norton Security

Countdown to Zero Day

RFID blocking wallet

RFID blocker

Organic survival food

SAS Survival Handbook

L i ve Free or Die Hard

How to Protect Yourself from Cyber Attack

Game Plan - how to protect from the coming cyber attack

Did you know...

The U.S. Government uses cyber weapons? Obama
ordered sophisticated attacks on Iran's computer systems
that run nuclear facilities in 2012. Will President Trump do
the same to stop North Korea?

NATO is prioritizing cyber security amid concerns? NATO
wants its 28 member countries to enhance cyber security
(Sept. 8, 2017).

Learn more: October is cyber security awareness month.

Happy endings...
Keep reading our free information so you'll know exactly what to
do to prepare for a cyber attack.

Related articles...

Prepare to live happily ever after with us at happypreppers.com - the emergency
preparedness Web site of prepping, survival, homesteading, and self-reliance.

How will you fill your bathtub? A WaterBob, pictured right, is
designed to capture 100 gallons of water in your bathtubs to
make it hygienic. Depending on the circumstance, you may need
to filter the water.

#2: Eat perishables.
Once you recognize the telltale signs of a cyber attack then you
must help yourself to a pity party starting with the ice cream!

Enjoy the ice cream first.
Eat the items in your refrigerator next.
Reserve the frozen foods for meals as they thaw.

#3: Head to the dollar store with a calculator and
cash (no debit card or credit card).
Grocery stores are dependent on bar code readers, and many will
shut down with a computer glitch of any kind.

Why head to the dollar store then? Because it's your best chance
for getting what you need. If everything is a buck, the manager
may allow a cashier to count merchandise ~ and you can help the
cashier with a calculator (look for one at the store or grab one in
your glove compartment).

Here are 99 ways to save a buck prepping the dollar stores.

NOTE: Never use a credit card at the dollar stores as using
credit at dollar stores will reduce your FICA score.

You have your stores of food, but if you can use your cash on
hand to get the fresh foods your family needs, you will be better
able to last even longer with the foods you have in your food
storage.

#4: Start rationing your water.
After you've gathered all the water you can in every possible
container, create a water rationing plan. The following articles will
help ensure you first have enough water:

#5: Start rationing your food.
The organic food storage, right is interesting in that it will last
one-person 40-days. Mind you, it's not three square meals a day,
but you won't starve to death. The concept of "40 days and 40
nights" is from the biblical reference of Noah who had to plan for
the rains to come. Noah didn't have freeze dried foods, but he
had a game plan.

You should first use up all the pantry items you have ~ the foods
you'd eat normally. When those items are used up, you can ration
the prepared freeze dried meals, and finally move to bulk and
dehydrated items in the end.

Do you have a long-term food storage plan? Do you have a
food supply that can take your family to at least the first 40 days
and nights of a cyber attack? Ideally, your food storage should go
much longer for all sorts of crisis. Read our free guide to the 37
foods to hoard before crisis.

#6: Make plans to bug out or fend what you have.

Always maintain situational awareness.
Understand the flight or fight response.

#7: Get that survival garden going!
This won't be enough time to start a garden, but you can sprout
foods immediately.

#8: Start living your new life.
You may find that life will never be the same again. A cyber
attack is perhaps slightly less bad than an ElectroMagnetic Pulse
where all the electronics a

Cyber Attacks: How Can They Hurt us?
The United States concluded that a malicious cyber attack caused
a power outage in the Ukraine suffered affecting more than
225,000 customers. Hackers were able to remotely switch
breakers to cut power after installing malware.

A power outage could happen in the U.S. and recovery could be up
to several weeks. Aside from day-to-day dependency on electricity
there are other considerations:

How will you get into your home? Bernie Carr, owner of
apartmentprepper.com suggests, "If you live in an apartment
building, know alternate ways to get into your unit if the
remote control garage or gate opener does not work."

QuickVent Safe with RFID locking system

Above, the QuickVent Safe with RFID locking system is the safest place to
hide and secure weapons, money, and jewelry. There are no numbers to
memorize or buttons to push, you just wave the included RFID card across
the top of the "vent" and it opens instantly. With the RFID locking system
your gun and other valuables are secure, yet can be accessed in seconds.

#4: Never use a debit card at a restaurant.
Note, we didn't say don't use a credit card. The key word is
"debit."

A restaurant is among the most dangerous places for debit card
theft. Actually there are ten places never to use a debit card.
Why are restaurants a target of cyber crime? According to
creditcards.com "Restaurants are one of the few places where you
have to let cards leave your sight when you use them." This gives
cyber thieves more opportunity to take your money instantly,
particularly with debit cards which don't have the same
protections as credit cards.

#5: Avoid using a debit card online.
Debit cards leave you vulnerable online, even if you use virus
software. A credit card offers you more protection online than a
debit card no matter where you use it, whereas a debit card
offers cyber thieves and immediate withdrawal of your cash.

#6: Stop using a debit card at gas stations.
You are vulnerable for cyber theft at a gas station. All it takes is
a guy sitting across the street with a laptop and an antenna for a
cyber criminal to steal your money while pumping gas with a
debit card, so says bankrate.com. A small camera can capture
your PIN and a thief can get your money.

#7: Minimize transactions at outdoor ATMS.
Skimming happens, of all places, at the ATM machine outside the
bank, the place you'd least expect it, but this is where it happens
most! It's much better to get your cash directly from the teller
inside to avoid skimming, so you may as well stand in line and
get a larger sum of money than getting $40 here and there.
Inside a retail outlet is also better place than out doors.

#8: Change your passwords and make them
uncommon.
Keep cyber thieves guessing. If you've been doing things, and
following the guidelines above, you've been making yourself a
more difficult target. Add to the list of things to do and not do...

Change your password change every now and again.
Never use the same password twice or repeat a password
you've used before.

Be creative. Avoid common passwords. Here is a list of
passwords that are all too common:

Avoid keyboard pattern password: "asdfgh" or "qwerty"
Don't use number patterns: "123456" or "696969"
Skip popular words like "football," "Superman" or
"dragon"

#8: Know the telltale signs of a cyber attack.
You will need a general situational awareness about all online or
computer activities you make. While no one really knows what a
grand-scale cyber attack will look like, you should have a basic
understanding of what to look for:

Slow connections could be the start of a cyber attack.
You won't be able to get a loan in a personal cyber attack.
Your credit cards might not work in a personal cyber attack.
Sudden loss of power is another telltale sign.
You won't be able to pump gas after a major cyber attack.
Your ATM won't work
Eventually water treatment facilities won't work after a cyber
attack.
Stop lights could create chaos when they all suddenly don't
work after a major cyber attack.
Planes will be grounded after a major cyber attack since
computer systems run air traffic control may be affected
along and loss of electricity.

#9: Expect long a power outage.
You will need to prepare for a life without electricity.

Study the Amish. In preparation for a cyber attack you will
need to know how to live without electricity. Yes, a cyber
attack can shut off the grid n the United States, which is
why it's imperative that you learn to live without electricity
the way the Amish do. For the Amish, living without
electricity is a way of life for religious reasons, but they
have amassed valuable information and preppers can
partake of it.

#11: Read and imagine, and watch movies!
Another thing you can do to protect yourself from cyber attack is
to learn everything you can about them. As a prepper you likely
have a general understanding cyber attacks, but a book can
augment your preparedness by having you consider new
scenarios, which could prepare you for an eventuality.

As well, authors of fiction and playwrights, are able to help you
visualize and understand the magnitude of a disaster, such as a
cyber attack...

Read mainstream books on cyber attack:
There are interesting books on cyber attacks for the prepper
library:

Cyber A ttack by Paul Day. This book on cyber attack was
written by a former hacker who is now a highly respected
computer security expert!

Game Plan - how to protect from the coming cyber attack by
Kevin D. Freeman. This a more unusual book on cyber
attack. Game Plan is the first "how to" investment handbook
of its type that explains the emerging risks and provides a
complete game plan of response for investors at all levels to
protect yourself against the coming cyber-economic attack.

Lights O ut by Ted Koppel.

Read prepper fiction:

Countdown to Zero Day ~ a novel on cyber attack that's free
with Audible trial, is one such a novel.

Cyber Attack: book two of the Boston Brahmin Series by
Bobby Akart

Read prepper handbooks on long term survival:

The SAS Survival Handbook, Third Edition: The Ultimate
Guide to Surviving Anywhere by John "Lofty" Wiseman,
pictured right, is an ideal book to read in preparation of a
cyber attack. Written in 2014, this "classic bestseller"
received an update recently to reflect the latest in survival
knowledge and technology, and covering new topics such as
urban survival and terrorism.

The Prepper's Long-term Survival Guide, right, by Jim Cobb,
makes a poignant statement. Namely that the preparation
you make for a hurricane, earthquake or other short-term
disaster will not keep you alive in the event of widespread
social collapse caused by pandemic, failure of the grid or
other long-term crises. Government pamphlets and other
prepping books tell you how to hold out through an
emergency until services are restored. This book teaches you
how to survive when nothing returns to normal for weeks,
months or even years.

Movies to watch include:

Zero days ~ Zero days is the story of black ops cyber-attack
launched by the U.S. and Israel on an Iranian nuclear facility
unleashed malware with unforeseen consequences. The
Stuxnet virus infiltrated its pre-determined target only to
spread its infection outward, ultimately exposing systemic
vulnerabilities that threatened the very safety of the planet.
Delve deep into the burgeoning world of digital warfare in
this documentary thriller.

Live Free or Die hard. A prepper movie specifically on the
subject of cyber attack is Live Free or Die Hard, starring
Bruce Willis (2007). It's the story of a three-pronged cyber
attack designed to bring down the entire country by crippling
its transportation, finances, and utilities.

It doesn't

hurt to have a little action-packed Hollywood

drama

to help drive

home the fact that our current

infrastructure is so vulnerable

and Live Free or Die Hard is

entertaining. Below is a trailer...

Above, Ted Koppel discusses Cyber Attacks and raises intruiging
questions about America's aging electrical grid and vulnerabilties.

The difference between identity theft and cyber attack...
Here's the truth about digital crime turned up a notch. If someone
steals your identity, it's a big mess. Just one person can steal
your digital fingerprint to ruin you financially. Imagine if someone
steals the digital identity of an entire nation? That's a cyber
attack an electronic armageddon.

The Electronic Armageddon
A digital doomday is imminent either by cyber warfare or attack
on our grid through an ElectroMagnetic pulse -- both have similar
consequences.

What could happen if a cyber attack crippled every aspect of
modern society's infrastructure, including our especially vulnerable
electrical grid? One can only imagine.

America must learn the proactive steps to minimizing‎ the
likelihood of a cyber attack‎‎. When we're talking cyber attack,
there are many levels that should concern you as a prepper:

Cyber warfare (government): The United States has both
launched an offensive and been a target for cyber warfare.
China, Iran, Russia, South Korea.

Cyber crime (utilities): American utility companies have also
suffered attacks: Iran attacked the New York Dam!

Cyber crime (business): In August 2016 the F.B.I. began
investigating a Russian Hack of New York Times reporters.

Cyber crime (individual): The cure for a personal cyber
attack when you have sensitive information on your computer
is to get virus protection, such as the best selling Norton by
Symantec Security Delux, pictured right, and use it daily.
Norton Security Deluxe protects your identity and financial
data from cybercrime. It can help guard against identity
theft, but it's not the only way to survive an attack.

Is it just a glitch or a warning of more glitches to come?
Cyber glitches have happened recently. Below are some examples
of cyber glitches that are real and really recent...

Airline cyber glitches 2016
Industry consultants say airlines have an increased risk of
computer disruptions:

U.S. Government glitches 2016

Below are some of the first glimpses of the problem of cyber
attacks and glitches...

Y2K glitches: During Y2K preppers imagined the possibility
of massive computer glitches which were man-made. Most
problems were handled by retailers on the fly without much
incident to consumers. While a global problem didn't
materialize, preppers were ready just in case.

The world's first digital weapon. In the book, Countdown to
Zero day, top cybersecurity journalist Kim Zetter tells the
story behind the virus that sabotaged Iran’s nuclear efforts
and shows how its existence has ushered in a new age of
warfare—one in which a digital attack can have the same
destructive capability as a megaton bomb.

So now that you have a good understanding of how this whole
cyber attack thing can affect you personally, you need to know
what to do...

How to Prepare for Cyber Attack
You may feel hopeless from a cyber attack, but from a prepper's
perspective, there's so much you can do! Below are some tips on
how to prepare before and for a cyber attack.

#1: Know where you stand in your credit profile.
Protecting against identity theft and personal cyber attack goes
beyond credit card monitoring. Some say you should review your
credit card report at least once a year, preferably every six
months; however this sets you up for more risk of interference
and it could also lower your credit rating.

Reviewing your credit won't solve your problem, it will only alert
you to the problems you will face. Below are some more practical
ways to mitigate an attack in the first place...

#2: Protect your identity by using mostly cash.
Cash is king, especially to preppers! Use cash whenever possible,
instead of a credit card or debit card, so there's less chance of
your personal information being stolen. Not only will the banks
not be able to track your prepping purchases, but you will be
safer from attack when it comes to cyber crime!

Another thing you can do to protect yourself from a personal cyber
attack is to pay your credit card bills with cash instead of sending
an electronic payment or check. Just go to the branch and make a
payment in person. Make it tough on cyber criminals to get you.
Don't be a victim of cyber attack.

#3: Get an RFID blocker for your credit cards.
There's more you can do to protect yourself from a personal cyber
attack. Take advantage of RFID technology!

RFID is the acronym for Radio Frequency Identification. It's that
little chip in your card that takes so long to read at the checkout
counter. By the end of 2015 almost all credit and debit cards
issued in the United States received an RFID chip on them. The
big risk is that the information on these chips are easy to steeal
by anyone walking near you with a scanner, unless you secure
them in an RFID wallet or case.

If you have a credit card with a microchip, then you are at risk.
Without a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) blocker, you risk
losing money, but you can protect yourself from data thieves who
skim and steal your personal financial information with:

an RFID blocking wallet
RFID blocking credit card sleeves
RFID blocking sleeve for your passports!

Having an RFID blocker will help you avoid wasting hours of time
cancelling credit cards, and you won't lose sleep and anxiety over
identity theft. You can travel safely and securely knowing that
you won't be a victim.

The QuickVent Safe with RFID locking system, below, is the
safest place to hide and secure weapons, money, jewelry:

How to Prepare for a Cyber Attack!
What to do and how to survive a cyber attack

Preppers must prepare for a cyber attack!
Learn the proactive steps to take to minimize the likelihood of a
cyber attack affecting your survival. All empires collapse
eventually. Will a cyber attack be what makes America crumble?
Perhaps most of America will perish, but you're a prepper and you
know you can take steps now to mitigate the risks...

How to Prepare for a Cyber Attack
America is increasingly vulnerable to cyber warfare, because of its
dependency on the flow of electronic information.

Our money, and our lives are tied to the cyber world:

Imagine not being able to get your money from the ATM, not
just for a day but for weeks on end.
Think of your employer not being able to give you a paycheck
or customers unable to pay you for stuff they want.
Consider for a moment that your entire savings gets wiped
away without a trace.
Ponder a bit what would happen if the toilet won't flush and
the tap runs dry.
Picture yourself stuck somewhere far from home and not
being able to pump your car full of gas to get home.
Envision the chaos when the traffic light system comes to a
halt and also air traffic control.
Predict what will happen to the stock market, and the panic
that will happen outside the grocery stores.

These are all real possibilities on the outcome of a cyber attack,
not just identity theft. A cyber attack could mean the end of the
world as we know it.

Will it be "Lights Out" for America?
In the New York Times Bestseller, Lights Out, Ted Koppel warns
that the United States is a nation unprepared for a cyber attack. A
major cyber attack on America’s power grid is not only possible
but likely, according to his book.

The United States is shockingly unprepared for the calamity that
would ensue. He warns that "For those without access to a
generator, there is no running water, no sewage, no refrigeration
or light. Food and medical supplies are dwindling. Devices we rely
on have gone dark. Banks no longer function, looting is
widespread, and law and order are being tested as never before."

Like the trailer for Live Free or Die Hard says, "The entire world relies on
technology, but even technology can be taken hostage. When the threat
becomes real, some habits die hard.

Things to do immediately following a
cyber attack.

#1: Fill the bath tubs with water after an attack.
If you watched the first episode of Revolution, you were likely
riveted with thoughts about the event which was a cross
between a cyber attack and an EMP event. You may perhaps
remember one of the first lines in the television series where a
man comes into an a home and tells his wife to: "Fill the sinks
and tubs, we don't have much time!"