“American Blackout” on NatGeo
Imagine 10 days of a catastrophic blackout across the United States. No cell phone service, no ATM withdrawals, no working street lights, no available gasoline … no escape. Fact: It could happen.
American Blackout, National Geographic Channel’s two-hour, edge-of-your-seat movie event imagines the story of a national power failure in the United States caused by a cyberattack told in real time, over 10 days, by those who kept filming on cameras and phones. You’ll learn what it means to be absolutely powerless.
Gritty, visceral and totally immersive, see what it might take to survive from day one, and who would be left standing when the lights come back on.
American Blackout combines startling user-generated footage from recent real blackouts and disasters like Hurricane Sandy intercut with the dramatic shot footage in feature film style. Follow the struggles of ordinary Americans wrangling through the chaos, and witness one prepper family who prepared for the worst.
Hacking into urban infrastructures isn’t science fiction anymore; cyberthreats and the weaknesses of the grid are in the news every day. In fact, cyberattacks can indeed cause power surges that physically damage electrical equipment. Said Leon Panetta, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense: “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.”
The power grid down original movie depicts what life would be life in the United States after a cyber attack on the nation’s electrical system. America goes black for less than two weeks, but a horrific number of deaths, massive civil unrest, and economic turmoil quickly occurs in the National Geographic film. The movie airs three weeks before the first nationwide power grid drill is scheduled to take place. The Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, and a host of other federal agencies, utility companies, and private businesses are slated to take part in the massive emergency disaster test.
Power grid down movie director Jonathan Rudd stated during a Q&A session for the media that the cyber attack in American Blackout was specifically chosen as the disaster cause because such a situation is no longer science fiction scenario. Earlier this year the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed earlier that the country has experienced approximately a 68 percent increase in “cyber incidents” at federal agencies during 2012. The DHS also warned that the cyber activity increase appears to include hacks by Middle Eastern nations such as Iran.
Read more about the film at Inquisitr.com