I am sure others have put this together, but I think it is something that needs to be out there. Two things are happening simultaneously. The United States is suffering its worst cyber attack, possibly in history. Trump and his minions are raising the temperature on a military coup. Even many of Trump’s advisors think he is going to a dangerous new place.
Put aside the who American exceptionalism thing and think about this. This is no ordinary cyber attack. It is something we have not seen before in terms of speed, sophistication and reach. The solar winds attack is already being compared to a cyber Pearl Harbor. This is not just some random hackers. This is highly coordinated and using new techniques that the FSB has probably been developing for years. They are pushing all of their cyber chips to the center of the table. Why? Just to show that they can do it? It would be like the Japaneses showing up at Pearl Harbor, dropping some bombs near the ships just to show what a great air force they have, and then retreating so the United States could prepare for the real attack. Putin and the FSB have a purpose for this. I do not think it is simply to gain information. Solar Wind is into a number of systems, at this point we don’t know how many, and we are not sure which ones, and we don’t know how to get them out. And remember this all happened days after Trump fires the head of cyber security in the United States probably (I believe purposefully) throwing the agency into chaos.
What are the most important things in a coup? Strike fast, take control of information networks, and sow chaos over those who might respond. I do not know but I wonder if Solar Wind has the capability of doing this. Meanwhile it seems Trump’s closest advisors, including a former National Security Advisor and “America’s Mayor” are starting to push a narrative of taking power by force.
Too many coincidences to be comfortable with.
A history student looking back at this moment would wonder why nobody was saying anything publicly (again I think people have realized this and are trying to prepare. I do not like or trust the U.S. National Security culture, but at this point I hope they live up to their own opinion of themselves).
