On a small island just off the state of New York, the United States military is practicing what would happen if the country or parts of major cities were plunged into darkness from a cyber attack. Business Insider was recently given picture access to the top-secret island to get an idea of what they are prepping for.

Only a few have gone through the extensive background checks needed to access Plum Island — where a secretive branch of the US government runs exercises to prepare for all-out cyber war. The speck of land in the Long Island Sound, owned by the Department of Homeland Security is largely deserted. The main attractions are a defunct lighthouse and a center that studies infectious animal diseases. It is also the perfect setting for the US government to stage mock cyber attacks on the power grid. The exercise prepares them for a worst case scenario: if hackers succeed in taking the US electric system offline.

As the article notes there were successful attacks on the grid in Ukraine in 2015 and 2016 that most believe was done by the Russians. The United States suffered a massive blackout in the east coast in 2003 that affected 50 million people here and in Canada. The government released this report in 2006 on what the causes and possible solution were HERE.

However, since the 9-11 attacks, U.S. officials have been working on alternative warfare defenses and the current state of the United States Power grid is of major concern. That the military has taken over an island in New York and running not war games but essentially power outage scenarios is a good sign that they are hopefully taking this threat seriously.

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