Ransomware Hacks: A Clear Case for Sustainability and Simplicity

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 29

Ransom ware Hacks: A Clear Case for Sustainability and Simplicity.

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is episode #29 which is called Ransom ware Hacks: A Clear Case for Sustainability and Simplicity.

I think by now that we are all aware of the recent high profile ransomware hacks on the Colonial Pipeline as well as the JBS meat supplier that shut down their packing plants for a couple of days resulting in meat shortages.  While such things may have only affected certain parts of the country, it certainly gets the attention of everyone. 

In this episode I want to talk a little bit about how these things can happen, how it affects each of us, and how this is a clear case for all of us to live a simple sustainable life. 

But first I want to give a little bit of back ground information so that we are all on the same page.  Ransomware is a form of malware. The word malware is a combination of the words “malicious” and “software”. So the term malware just covers all malicious software that is dangerous to your computer or any other device. 

Ransomware is a specific category of malware. It has very quickly become the most prominent and publicly visible form or malware.  But what this type of software does after gaining access to a computer, is that it encrypts certain files, or maybe all files, so that the owner of the device no longer has access.  Then of course the person or persons responsible for the malware attack demands money in order to give you the key or code so that you can regain access to your device. Thus the term ransomware. So basically ransomware is extortion software that can lock your computer then demand a ransom to for its release. 

Now in the big scheme of things if this happens to you, it is only a problem for you as an individual. And this has actually happened to me before. Someone gained access to my computer, implanted ransomware, when I turned on my computer the next morning, this blue screen came up with this very official looking logo that appeared to be from the US government. There was also a photo at the top of the page. 

So this software gains access to your computer, uses your webcam to take your photo, locks your computer, then this message comes up with your photo at the top of the page with several paragraphs of text accusing you of various crimes. Then it states that government law enforcement officials are on their way to your home to arrest you. But, you can prevent that if you pay the fine for your crimes. They of course give you a code and a specific place to go in order to pay. 

Of course initially I was very disconcerted. But then of course I began to laugh a little. First of all I always keep my computer screen tipped back a little. So the photo that was taken only captured the back of the room.  Then I thought government officials that come to your residence to arrest you do not give notice much less via your computer. 

I am not sure if there was a way to prevent this. But, it was only a problem for me. I had to take my computer and get it fixed which cost me $150. Once I had it back I taped a piece of paper over my webcam which remains there to this day.  I also purchase a 1 TB external drive and I backup my computer once a week. 

Now imagine if this sort of thing happens to a large company or even a government office.  And this has happened. In recent years ransomware attacks have become increasingly prevalent in state and local governments as well as critical infrastructure organizations such as the Colonial Pipeline. 

So, most of you are most likely completely unaware that 80% of the critical infrastructure in the United States is actually privately owned. And the simple fact that these organizations do not maintain the same level of cybersecurity as the federal government. This makes these companies vulnerable to attack. 

In the case of the Colonial Pipeline, this is a company that controls 45% of the gas for the east coast of the United States. The pipeline was shut down as a means of protecting some of the companies other vital operations. Once that happened it cause a massive domino effect which resulted in panic buying at the gas pumps. 

Colonial Pipeline paid the ransom because the country could not afford to have the pipeline shut down for another 3 to 5 days because buses and other mass transit operations would have to limit their operations due to lack of diesel fuel. Additionally, chemical factories and refinery operations would also shut down because there would be no way to distribute what they produced. And to take this a bit further, there simply were no back up systems in place, no truck drivers to move the fuel and no tanker cars for trains. 

So, I am sure that the list of lessons learned from this are long. But, we have now seen a clear example of how little it takes to incite chaos across a large part of the country. No one has to even break into the core of the electric grid, or the operational control systems that move gasoline, water and propane around the country. Something as basic as a well-designed ransomware attack easily does the trick. 

And after hearing about this, I thought to myself, is it really that simple. You hack into one computer system and you disrupt the 50% of the supply of a valuable commodity that serves the entire east coast of the United States. 

Now, the JBS company that was hacked is another example. JBS is the largest beef supplier in the world. The hack of their systems caused meat packing plants to shut down across the United States and Australia. Now their decision to pay the attackers was different. They simply wanted to protect their files. But, most of their systems were up and running at the time of the payment. 

So the interesting part of such scenarios is that this is nothing unusual. The millions of dollars paid is not unusual. And for companies such as Colonial and JBS paying millions of dollars is easy to do.  

Now I know that by now you may be thinking what the heck all of this has to do with sustainability. Well, bear with me for a bit longer because I am going to get to that.  

So far I have discussed the Colonial Pipeline and the JBS shutdown. While both of these companies were hacked and shut down for different reasons, the fact remains that it resulted in a disruption of the supply chain of a valuable commodity, albeit temporary. Now while the cybersecurity folks are scrambling around trying to figure out what the heck happened and what lessons there are to be learned, I would contend that as a culture we have learned absolutely nothing. 

I think it is interesting to sit back and observe just how the infrastructure in this country works.  First of all, in the interest of money, everything is set up for maximum efficiency. It is more efficient and less costly to have one or two central operations than it is to have multiple local facilities scattered across the country.  Allow me to give you some examples. 

-Instead of having local refineries that supply gasoline to a limited area, it is far less costly to have one central operation and a 5,500 mile pipeline to supply most of the East Coast. It is less costly to pump gas and oil through a pipeline that it is to transport limited quantities via a truck or a train. 

-It is less costly for a company such as JBS to have centralized operations. 

-Most supermarkets are only going to house maybe 2 to 3 days of back stock. Everything else is kept in a central warehouse. And even that warehouse is tied to supply chains that stretch all over the world. 

So the point of all of this is maximum efficiency in order to keep cost as low as possible. But, as you well know from my episode called Waste Not, Want Not, Pollute Not, this type of so called “efficiency” results in an enormous amount of waste.  

But to continue down this thought process, what happens when things get disrupted? For example: 

-The Colonial Pipeline shuts down

-Meat packing facilities shut down

-Hurricanes shut down operations in the Gulf of Mexico. 

-There is a huge accident at a refinery and oil production get shut down

-There is a worldwide pandemic

-A winter storm shuts down everything for a week or more. 

The point being is that all of these things can and do happen and it is completely our of your control. Yet it can also dramatically affect your personal life. 

But while the infrastructure is set up for maximum efficiency what you have to understand is that there is no back up system in place. So if something goes wrong you are out of luck. 

If the pipeline shuts down, you are out of luck. 

If a hurricane causes complete destruction, you are out of luck.  

If a winter storm moves in and shuts everything down for a week or more, you are out of luck. 

If a pandemic pushed people to the point of panic buying and the supermarket shelves are empty you are out of luck. 

My point being is that these are things you cannot control. Yet these are things that control your life.  So the least little thing can happen that completely disrupts your life and there is nothing you can do about it. While this podcast focuses on sustainable living principles, I have a blog Off Grid Living News that focuses on off grid living. If you have read my blog posts then you know there is one thing you will hear me say over and over again. 

As long as someone else is in control of your resources, they are in fact in control of your life. And that is how this talk about ransomware and hackers is directly connected to sustainability and simplicity. 

What you have to understand, is when there is some sort of major disruption in supply and demand, the government and the private industry folks are not thinking about you. They are only thinking about themselves. For example, when there is a temporary increase in demand for certain commodities, such as when people were panic buying from the supermarket, companies such as General Mills, is only going to increase production to a certain extent. Otherwise when the demand ceases, they are stuck with extra product they cannot sell and maybe a lot of extra employees that are no longer needed. What that means is that they are more interested in protecting themselves financially. They are not concerned about you as an individual. 

The same is true when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans was devastated. Thousands of people were stuck in the Super Dome for emergency sheltering . It took FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 5 days to get fresh water to the Super Dome. And a certain portion of the troops sent there were specifically instructed to guard the assets of the rich and shoot anyone who tried to get past them. I know this because I have personal friends who were sent there with the military.  

The same is true if there ever was a true national emergency. The federal government is first going to move to protect national and state leaders, maintained national security, protect vital portions of the infrastructure, banks, wealth, and if there are any personnel left after that, then they will look after the people. 

So what does all of this mean for you and I as individuals? 

So, for a quick recap. 

We have this enormous and complicated infrastructure that is built for maximum efficiency in order to supply us with our daily needs. But, it actually takes very little in order to completely disrupt the supply chain and cause complete chaos,  whether that be hackers, an oil spill in the Gulf, or simply a storm that moves through your area. 

In my opinion, it should concern you that it takes very little to completely disrupt the infrastructure that supplies you with daily needs.

But most people feel completely helpless to do anything about that. When actually there is a lot that you can do. In fact, there is an incredible amount that you can do. 

The answer to this dilemma is to lead a simple, sustainable lifestyle. Now on one hand it is very simple. But on the other hand it can be complicated.  

As I have said before, I cannot control the government. I cannot control climate change. I cannot control the oil industry, or the beef industry, or any number of other things that are destroying our environment.  But what I can control is my own personal lifestyle and the choices that I make. 

We have managed to get our lives to the point that we are 100% sustainable for electricity, water, sewer, shelter, and about 50% sustainable as far as our food supply is concerned.  Now this has taken some time, and some refining of our methods of course. But, it has been well worth the effort because we are insulated to a certain degree from a lot of things that go on in the world that we cannot control. 

We keep a simple basic lifestyle, we home can a tremendous amount of our own food. In fact right now our latest project is 5 gallons of home made sauerkraut, which will likely last us a year.  Additionally we keep a large stock of basic dry goods that we dip into and rotate on a regular basis. But we also make our own soap, shampoo, laundry detergent. We make our own bread, we raise chickens and turkeys so we have a supply of fresh eggs and meat. 

Not only that, we have certain back up systems in place. If something goes wrong with the solar array, we have back up lighting that is charged on a completely different array. We also have two generators and a supply of gasoline. We also have propane and kerosine lanterns for back up lighting. If something happens to our water filtration system, we have 2 other that will quickly replace them.  

But this is pretty much how I was raised to be. We had two working farms in the family and I have no memory of eating store bought meat until I moved away from home. Being self sufficient is something we never really talked about because it was simply how we lived.  

Now there are multiple reasons for my choosing to live the way I do. But there are also multiple reasons that I have been self employed for over 20 years. I tend to be a very independently minded person and I do not want someone else making my decisions for me. The same is true for my self sufficient and sustainable lifestyle.  I will be the first to admit that my lifestyle is not perfect. Just like anything else it has its advantages and disadvantages. But, I can confidently say that amidst the panic buying during the pandemic, I never worried about anything. 

In my mind the bottom line of being self sufficient and sustainable is about taking responsibility for everything that you choose to do and everything that you choose not to do. Being responsible for managing your own resources is not simple. But being able to do so gives you the confidence that in the event of an emergency, you at least have the skill and resources to take care of yourself instead of spending 5 days in the Super Dome without water because the government cannot get their act together.  

But being responsible for yourself and your choices also takes some forethought and planning. For example, in the case of JBS meat company being shut down, if the same were to happen nation wide due to some national emergency, I can at least be confident that I have 100 quarts of home canned meat in the cellar and 150 pounds of meat in the freezer. 

If something were to happen to the gasoline supply chain and this commodity were to be cut off completely for months, again I have a nice supply of home canned food, we are self sufficient for water and electricity so we would not have to go anywhere for months. 

So my point here is that you can no longer afford to sit back and depend on someone else to take care of your needs. You have to learn to take care of yourself. This Colonial Pipeline and JBS computer hacking is a clear example of just how easy it is for our supply chains and infrastructure to be complete disrupted. 

Just don’t sit back and allow yourself to be one of the hundreds of people rushing to the supermarket to purchase things at the last minute that you should have had at home in the first place. Don’t fall victim to ransomware that disrupts our supply chains. Don’t sit back and expect the government to swoop in and save the world, as well as you, when in the event of a major emergency, your personal well being is in fact the last thing of their mind. 

What I am saying is this: simply your life and live sustainably. You will not only help the planet but you will also give yourself a bit more personal security.  

If you have enjoyed this episode then please subscribe to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast as well as my blog Off Grid Living News.  

This is your host Patrick signing off until next week.  

Remember to always live sustainable because this is how we build a better future.