The film depicts the United States in a full-scale collapse due to a cyberattack that takes down everything from phone lines to the power grid to the internet, and even satellites in orbit. In the currently globalized world, all of these things are vital to the continuity of the current world order – without them, "Leave the World Behind" would become a documentary rather than a fictitious thriller.
Megan Wright, a former senior advisor at the U.S. State Department Antiterrorism Assistance Program who also worked as a senior law enforcement advisor for the 2012 Republican National Convention (RNC) says the dystopian content of "Leave the World Behind" is not out of the realm of possibility should a cyberattack of the level depicted manifest.
"Now, as the Chief Security Advisor for cybersecurity company SentinelOne, defense against ransomware and state-sponsored cyber strikes is my job," Wright said in a piece she wrote for the DailyMail Online (United Kingdom).
"China and Russia are the only adversarial nation-states with the military and cyber capability to conduct total global warfare. These enemies of America don't need to bring down passenger planes or sabotage supertankers to trigger mayhem."
(Related: Check out these tips for how to survive a potential cyberattack takedown of America.)
A new world order is birthed
To be clear, Wright's opinions about China and Russia, in that context, are merely speculation. The United States itself, and the so-called "deep state" that runs it behind the veil, is fully capable of taking down America itself in a false flag attack, which it could then blame on an enemy like China or Russia.
Hackers have already tested the waters, it would seem, with smaller-scale cyberattacks in recent years, i.e., the recent cyberattack on a water facility in Hawaii; another on a West Coast port; and another on an oil and gas pipeline.
The Russian-linked ransomware group DarkSide was also blamed on the May 7, 2021, attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which created gasoline shortages throughout the American South and all along the American East Coast. That particular oil system is the largest of its kind, supplying about 45 percent of the East Coast's fuel supply.
"News channels showed images of cars lined up for miles as gas stations from Virginia to Florida ran dry and were forced to close," Wright said. "North Carolina declared a state of emergency. It didn't matter that the attack only lasted a few days. It didn't matter that the oil supply wasn't lost or that the government was cautioning everyone to remain calm."
"The fear was real – and that's a precursor to bringing a nation to its knees."
Then there is the ongoing threat of China invading and trying to take over Taiwan. Chinese President Xi Jinping recently warned President Joe Biden that his plan is to "reunify" Taiwan with the Chinese mainland, an action that would require a full-scale invasion.
Should the U.S. defy this plan by China, the communist country might launch a cyberattack on America, likely in major population centers like Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Phoenix, Houston, or Philadelphia – this is the opinion of Wright, anyway.
"Taking out power to 100 homes would generate little interest and have negligible impact," Wright warned. "The goal of a power attack is to cause massive disruption and create the conditions to overwhelm public safety and the response of federal authorities."
"Perhaps, the Chinese would take a page out of the Russian cyber playbook."
More related news can be found at Cyberwar.news.
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