>>> WHEN YOU PUT THE HEAD OF THE FBI AND THE CIA AND THE NSA AND
THE DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
AND THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE ALL IN A ROW, ALL
AT THE SAME TABLE, IT WILL
INEVITABLY MAKE NEWS.
YESTERDAY, THE BIGGEST HEADLINE
OUT OF THE BIG INTELLIGENCE
HEARING IN THE SENATE WAS
PROBABLY THIS, "U.S.
INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS CONTRADICT
TRUMP ON NORTH KOREA, ISIS, AND
IRAN."
IRAN." THEY COULD HAVE GONE ON AS WELL.
THAT’S A BIG DEAL.
BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER BIG, BIG
PIECE OF NEWS THAT CAME OUT OF
THAT MEETING OF THE MIND
YESTERDAY THAT IS WORTH PAYING
ATTENTION TO, AND THAT ISN’T
NECESSARILY ABOUT A SPLIT
BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE
INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS.
INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS. IT’S JUST ABOUT OUR COUNTRY IN A
VERY BLUNT WAY.
BEFORE THAT HEARING IN THE
SENATE YESTERDAY, THE DIRECTOR
OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, DAN
COATS PUT OUT THIS REPORT.
IT’S 42 PAGES LONG.
IT’S THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY’S WORLDWIDE THREAT
ASSESSMENT, AND I JUST WANT TO
DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE
REAL DOOZY THAT STARTS ON THE
BOTTOM OF PAGE 5.
QUOTE, CHINA HAS THE ABILITY TO
LAUNCH CYBER ATTACKS THAT CAUSE
LOCALIZED TEMPORARY DISRUPTIVE
EFFECTS ON AMERICAN CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE, SUCH AS
DISRUPTION OF A NATURAL GAS
PIPELINE FOR DAYS TO WEEKS IN
THE UNITED STATES.
OH.
OH. AND IT’S NOT JUST CHINA.
GO TO PAGE 6.
QUOTE, RUSSIA HAS THE ABILITY TO
EXECUTE CYBER ATTACKS IN THE
UNITED STATES THAT GENERATE
LOCALIZED TEMPORARY DISRUPTIVE
EFFECTS ON CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE, SUCH AS
DISRUPTING AN ELECTRICAL
DISTRIBUTION NETWORK FOR AT
LEAST A FEW HOURS.
SO CHINA COULD SHUT OFF THE
NATURAL GAS PIPELINES.
RUSSIA CAN JUST SHUT OFF THE
ELECTRICITY.
ELECTRICITY. THEY HAVE THAT ABILITY NOW.
THERE HAVE BEEN RUMBLES FOR A
WHILE THAT HOSTILE FOREIGN
GOVERNMENT HACKERS HAD BURROWED
THEIR WAY INTO AMERICAN CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE, AND
INFRASTRUCTURE, AND PARTICULARLY, THE POWER
NETWORKS.
NETWORKS. "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" HAS
DONE THE BEST REPORTING ON THIS
FRONT IN THE COUNTRY, LAYING OUT
EXACTLY HOW THAT SCENARIO COULD
PLAY OUT HERE, HOW FOREIGN
COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN LAYING THE
GROUNDWORK TO ONE DAY FLIP THE
OFF SWITCH ON AN ENTIRE SWATH OF
THE U.S. POWER GRID IF THEY WANT
TO.
TO. BUT THIS NEW REPORT FROM THE
INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS RINGS A
WHOLE NEW KIND OF ALARM BELL.
THIS IS NO LONGER JUST A THING
THAT THEY MIGHT BE PLANNING FOR
THAT COULD CONCEIVABLY HAPPEN
ONE DAY.
ONE DAY. THIS IS THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE, TELLING US ALL IN
UNCLASSIFIED FORM, IN BLACK AND
WHITE, DHIENCHINA AND RUSSIA CAN
THIS NOW, TODAY, IF THEY WANT
TO.
TO. IN OTHER WORDS, WE’RE RELYING ON
THEIR GOOD GRACES THAT THEY’RE
NOT.
NOT. AND IT IS LIKE NEGATIVE 50
DEGREES IN THE DAKOTAS RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF RUSSIA
KILLED THE POWER IN FARGO TODAY?
RIGHT?
RIGHT? WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ALL THE
NATURAL GAS LINES THAT SERVICE
SIOUX FALLS JUST POOF ON THE
COLDEST DAY IN RECENT MEMORIES,
AND IT WASN’T IN OUR POWER
WHETHER OR NOT TO TURN THEM BACK
ON.
ON. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU LOST
HEAT INDEFINITELY AS THE ACT OF
A FOREIGN POWER ON THE SAME DAY
THE TEMPERATURE IN YOUR FRONT
YARD MATCHED THE TEMPERATURE IN
ANTARCTICA?
ANTARCTICA? I MEAN, WHAT WOULD YOU AND YOUR
FAMILY DO?
FAMILY DO? JOINING US NOW IS REBECCA SMITH.
SHE IS AN ENERGY REPORTER FOR
THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL."
SHE HAS BEEN REPORTING ON THE
VULNERABLE OF OUR POWER GRID TO
FOREIGN HACKERS IN PAINSTAKING
DETAIL.
DETAIL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING
HERE.
HERE. >> IT’S A PLEASURE.
>> LET ME ASK YOU IF YOU FEEL
LIKE THIS WARNING, THIS PUBLIC
NOTICE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE IS CONGRUENT WITH
THE KIND OF REPORTING THAT
YOU’VE BEEN DOING AT THE JOURNAL
AND THE KIND OF THING YOU’VE
BEEN ABLE TO RAISE THE ALARM
ABOUT FROM THE JOURNALISTIC
SIDE.
SIDE. >> ONE OF THE THINGS I FOUND
INTERESTING ABOUT THIS YEAR’S
THREAT ASSESSMENT IS NO LONGER
IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
DESCRIBING THESE THINGS AS A
HYPOTHETICAL.
HYPOTHETICAL. I MEAN, IN THE PAST, THE
GOVERNMENT HAS SAID THAT THE
THREAT OF U.S. RETALIATION WOULD
KEEP OUR FOES IN CHECK.
THIS YEAR, YOU KNOW, THEY’VE
DROPPED THAT.
DROPPED THAT. NOW THEY’RE SAYING THE RUSSIANS
AND THE CHINESE ARE IN OUR
NETWORKS AND THEY CAN SHUT
THINGS DOWN IF THEY WISH TO.
THAT’S REALLY A DRAMATIC
TURN-ABOUT.
TURN-ABOUT. AND I THINK IT SHOWS THAT THIS
IS REALLY A MATTER OF UTMOST
NATIONAL SECURITY.
NATIONAL SECURITY. >> WE HAVE FOCUSED ON THE
CONFLICT THAT OUR COUNTRY HAS
WITH RUSSIA AND WITH THE RUSSIAN
ATTACK ON THE ELECTION AND ALL
OF THE OTHER STRANGE DYNAMICS
BETWEEN OUR COUNTRY AND RUSSIA
IN THE ERA OF THE TRUMP
PRESIDENCY, EVER SINCE THE 2016
CAMPAIGN.
CAMPAIGN. THE IDEA OF CHINA AS A FOREIGN
ACTOR THAT MIGHT NOT ONLY HAVE
THIS -- AN INTEREST IN DOING
THIS, BUT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO
DO IT RIGHT NOW IS SOMETHING I
THINK IS GOING TO BE LESS
FAMILIAR TO A LOT OF AMERICANS.
THE CHINESE AND THE RUSSIANS
ESSENTIALLY ON PAR IN TERMS OF
THEIR CAPABILITY HERE?
>> I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THEIR
CAPABILITY.
CAPABILITY. WE REALLY -- TO SOME EXTENT, THE
BEST INFORMATION IS GOING TO BE
IN CLASSIFIED CIRCLES.
AND IN THE PAST WE’VE THOUGHT
THAT THE CHINESE WERE PRIMARILY
FOCUSED ON EXFILTRATING
INFORMATION THAT THEY COULD
COMMERCIALIZE, WHEREAS THE
RUSSIANS WERE TAKING AN APPROACH
THAT WAS MORE ALONG THE LINES OF
TRADITIONAL DEFENSE.
TRADITIONAL DEFENSE. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WAS
INTERESTING THAT DAN COATS SAID
YESTERDAY IS THAT MOSCOW AND
BEIJING ARE WORKING TOGETHER
MORE CLOSELY NOW THAN THEY HAVE
IN DECADES.
IN DECADES. SO REGARDLESS OF WHAT EACH
COUNTRY’S CAPABILITY, IT APPEARS
THAT THEY MIGHT WORK TOGETHER TO
DO US HARM.
>> WHEN THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL
INTELLIGENCE DECIDES TO DO THIS
IN A NONCLASSIFIED DOCUMENT,
DECIDES TO PUT THIS OUT IN A
PUBLIC SENSE, THAT WAS ONE OF
THE SURPRISES THIS WEEK, ONE OF
THE THINGS THAT WAS INTERESTING
TO SEE FROM THE INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY, THIS WORLDWIDE THREAT
ASSESSMENT WAS PUT OUT AS A
NONCLASSIFIED DOCUMENT,
NONCLASSIFIED DOCUMENT, PUBLISHED ONLINE AND WE COULD
ALL READ IT.
AS FAR AS WE KNOW, CERTAINLY
THERE IS CLASSIFIED MATERIAL
THAT GOES ALONG WITH THIS SORT
OF THING, BUT I DON’T THINK
THERE IS A CLASSIFIED ANNEX OR
VERSION OF THIS REPORT THAT
LAWMAKERS ARE GETTING THAT WE
ARE NOT.
ARE NOT. I WONDER IF THAT EFFECTIVELY IS
ITSELF A FORM OF DEFENSE.
BY TRYING TO RAISE THE PUBLIC
ALARM ABOUT THIS, TO TRY TO
HEIGHTEN ABOUT THIS AMONG THE
GENERAL AMERICAN PUBLIC AND
LAWMAKERS, IF THIS MIGHT BE SOME
SORT OF SIGNAL FROM THE
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY THAT WE
OUGHT TO DO MORE TO EITHER
PREPARE FOR THIS OR TO TRY TO
HEAD IT OFF.
>> I THINK THIS IS THE -- A VERY
SUBTLE SIGNALING ON THE PART OF
THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES THAT
THEY WANT THERE TO BE MORE
ATTENTION.
ATTENTION. NOW, IT’S POSSIBLE THAT THERE IS
SOME DISAGREEMENT WITHIN THE
FEDERAL AGENCIES ABOUT HOW MUCH
THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD DIVULGE.
I WORKED ON A PROJECT WITH A
STORY THAT WAS PUBLISHED EARLIER
THIS MONTH WITH MY COLLEAGUE ROB
BARRY AND WE TRIED AND WHAT
WOUND OF BEING PAINSTAKING
DETAIL TO RECONSTRUCT A RUSSIAN
CYBER ATTACK.
CYBER ATTACK. WE STARTED SHOWING HOW THEY
STARTED ATTACKING SMALL
SUPPLIERS AND VENDERS AND WORKED
THEIR WAY UP THE CHAIN UNTIL
THEY REACHED UTILITIES.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER
REVEALED THE IDENTITIES OF THE
UTILITIES THAT WERE HACKED.
THEY KEEP ALL THAT INFORMATION
PRIVATE.
PRIVATE. BUT I THINK THERE MAY BE -- WE
MAY BE STARTING TO SEE A CRACK
IN THAT, WHERE THERE ARE SOME
PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT THAT
WANT MORE INFORMATION TO COME
OUT.
OUT. I MEAN, THERE IS A GENERAL
FEELING THAT GOVERNMENT ONLY
REACTS WHEN THERE’S A CRISIS,
AND I THINK THERE ARE SOME
PEOPLE IN HIGH-LEVEL POSITIONS
IN GOVERNMENT WHO WANT US TO DO
MORE NOW BEFORE THERE IS A
CRISIS.
CRISIS. >> ALL RIGHT.
AT LEAST TRYING TO CREATE A
SENSE OF CRISIS OR WORRY ABOUT A
POTENTIAL CRISIS THAT CAN --
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. >> -- GENERATE SOME POLITICAL
MOMENTUM HERE.
MOMENTUM HERE. REBECCA SMITH, "WALL STREET
JOURNAL" ENERGY REPORTER.
YOU DO PHENOMENAL WORK.
THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO AT