Cyberwar Risk – Was U.S. Navy Victim Of Hacking?

– U.S. Navy collisions: More than a coincidence?
– Latest U.S. Navy collision is fourth involving a Seventh Fleet warship this year
– Have US Navy vessels become victims of hacking asks Rickards
– Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. John Richardson, has not ruled out cyber intrusion
– “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action…” – Ian Fleming
– Cyber security cause for concern in autonomous vehicles, aeroplanes and now ships
– Serves as reminder that a connected world can expose and create vulnerabilities
– Cyber security a major threat to banking and financial industry
– Investors should hold physical gold as insurance against hacking, cyber attacks

Source: Navylive

The tragic U.S.Navy incident of the USS John McCain earlier in the week has raised several questions about the cause. Many are wondering if it was more than human error given this is not an isolated incident.

In the last year there have been four collisions in the area, including the latest one. So far in 2017, 17 US sailors have died in the Pacific southeast in events which have been attributed to accidental collisions with civilian vessels.

In January the USS Antietam ran aground near Yosuka, Japan.
In May the USS Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel.
On June 17th seven US sailors died when the USS Fitzgerald — operating near Yokuska — collided with a container ship from the Philippines. It was determined that “the bridge team lost situational awareness.”

Pentagon and intelligence insider Jim Rickards points out “when the same basic incident happens twice, you have to raise your eyebrows. When you have a low-probability event that happens twice, in other words, the likelihood of coincidence becomes infinitesimal.”

"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action." – Ian Fleming
Four 7th Fleet collisions in one year. pic.twitter.com/vKbFWPAAsr

— Jim Rickards (@JamesGRickards) August 22, 2017

Rickards and others are wondering if the Navy’s decades-old reliance on old electronic guidance systems has become the victim of multiple cyberattacks.

There are two main ways a hacker can interfere with a warship: by attacking its GPS or a malware attack on its computer network.