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High-Tech Attack Alert For 2016 Super Bowl (thestack.com)
An anonymous reader writes with news about a Homeland Security memo concerning potential technological attacks during the Super Bowl. The forthcoming Super Bowl event on 7th February could be at risk of a high-tech attack against fans both inside and outside the San Francisco 49ers Stadium. A security memo issued by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security has warned that the annual game could be a target not just at the stadium, but at other commemorative events taking place in San Francisco and in the Silicon Valley. One of the chief concerns is the various sabotages committed against fibre cables in the area. As the fibre optic cable networks function as back up communication systems in emergency situations, these are a possible target for the attackers. By destroying these cables, response times could be slowed down.
Yeah, just an 'anonymous reader'...
Someone has "high tech" cut the fibre! Where will my pr0n go?
And why wait for the Super Bowl to do this?
And why is this a "threat"?
Is bowling really that popular in America?
And big whoop if someone cuts some cables, fix them after the bowling is over.
Hyperbole much?
This is another shining example of shit media. You're reporting on a possible "slow down" on back up services, without mentioning risk to "primary services?"
That's like saying: the backup generator could potentially be acting up but the grid is operating perfectly and looks to be able to operate perfectly. ... And the real question is, what the fuck does this even mean? Nothing.
Might as well masturbate and after just piss into the wind... It's certainly be more impactful on your life.
There is more likely to be a riot after the Super Bowl than a terrorist attack. You are more likely to die from food poisoning while eating a hot dog in New York City then you are to die in a terrorist attack anywhere in the United States.
Lets make up lots of other dumb ideas to be afraid of and post them as a story on a web site.
I'd be willing to bet that all of those fiber cuts were caused by would-be copper thieves who didn't know how to tell the difference between the two. Copper wire theft is happening fairly frequently in the Bay Area, thanks in no small part to growing poverty rates.
Ask yourself which is more likely—a few people trying to make a quick buck or a vast underground conspiracy of terrorists trying to find the optimal places to sever fiber lines to maximally disrupt communications and delay emergency response so that they can attack the Super Bowl in some way... and doing it by randomly cutting the lines to see what happens, rather than by stealing maps of where all the fiber goes....
I mean yes, there's a chance it is terrorism-related. There's also a chance that someone stole Adolf Hitler's DNA and cloned him in a secret laboratory so that he could bring about the end of the world, and that these fiber cuts were caused by his clone army of mutant mice with laser beam eyes. I'd bet on the latter before the former....
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
If there's a god in heaven, what in the hell is he waiting for?
I mean, if he can't hear the children, then he must see the wars.
It sure seems to me the he leads his lambs to the slaughterhouse, and not the promised land.
Carolina. Denver. Denver wins it. Bings says so. So it costs a few a little brain damage. It could be worse. Still, all the "attack warning", "turn your neighbors in", is getting to be a bit too too much.
The cable cuts that have occurred in the Bay Area have been above-ground cables, but all the cables in the vicinity of the Levi's Stadium (where the Superbowl is being held) are buried. So potential attackers have first to dig up the road.
There will be a big police presence so I doubt that someone digging up the road on Superbowl Sunday would go unnoticed.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Sounds to me they're just getting ready for the possibility of the Patriots returning to the Super Bowl. Given the headset shenanigans they've already been up to, you can't be too well prepared for dealing with whatever scheme they might have to "win" a second Super Bowl.
It's all fun and games, until someone sets off a NNEMP device buried under the 50 yard line. ... I think that was part of the plot in a bad movie. I've noticed that a lot of credible threats are taken straight from movies and TV shows.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
"As the fibre optic cable networks function as back up communication systems in emergency situations, these are a possible target for the attackers"
And, what's the plan for the primary comms?
Yeah this just sounds like more fake security BS spewed from the government to me.
A. Why are fiber optic cables so important for response times when satellite phones are plentiful in government use.
B. Response to what? It's the super bowl, they are already there. It's not like they are at the Police Station waiting without any idea where the next problem could be (hint, the superbowl is planned well in advance, in a known location).
C. Why is cutting cables a "high tech attack"? Sounds like this is just a way to keep hammering that word into our heads as if something needs to be done about all these "high tech attacks".
Wake up to propaganda people. It's alive and well.
'Foot'ball threatened. Expected casualties are lethargy, beer sales, ad. revenue.
DISPATCHING THE NATIONAL GUARD.
-- End public service announcement --
Requiem for the American Dream
Fibre cutting is not high-tech, it requires an axe or a saw, and is similar to cutting a rope. As some others have noticed, fibre cutting probably comes from failed attempts to steal copper wires, rather than an intentional sabotage to the telecommunication network.
Getting tired of all these "ahhh this might happen!?!?!?" scenarios, either from here or other sites. Nothing bad ever happens, but when it does it's very much an isolated event, and well over 99.99% of people won't be affected.
Nowhere does it say that there is any evidence of someone planning an attack. No mention of any specific group like ISIS or Al-whomever. There is literally no intelligence behind this warning, spy type or IQ type. It's just frightened people who are paid to be paranoid screaming "Bogeyman!" Worse yet, they are giving ideas to the few bad guys out there who may not have thought of this. TFA even mentions the dreaded "lone terrorist" who can't be spotted/tracked because he talks to no one. That kind of person is an angry loner who may not even go over the tipping point if they hadn't put specific ideas in his head.
Those claiming to protect us are going too far into paranoia and becoming a danger themselves, beyond destroying our privacy and individual rights. Yes, we need the services they are hired to perform, but I'm disgusted by how far they go in their righteous enthusiasm. This is irresponsibly frightening the public, just what the terrorists want. And exactly wrong for our well-being and economy.
The article quotes the FBI memo as saying, "the FBI and DHS have no information to indicate any specific, credible threats to or associated with Super Bowl 50 or related events". Which means that the people paid to be professionally paranoid and anticipate potential attacks have... Done their fscking jobs and anticipated potential attacks! ZOMG, the sky is falling! Personally, I think it's going to go down like this.
Chelloveck
I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
Do you even English bro?
I await reading the FBI/DHS memo detailing the alert on the threat of the Sweet Meteor of Death hitting the 2016 Super Bowl. I mean, come on, the odds are about the same as for this.
Scott
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
"One of the chief concerns is the various sabotages committed against fibre cables in the area. As the fibre optic cable networks function as back up communication systems in emergency situations, these are a possible target for the attackers. By destroying these cables, response times could be slowed down."
The fucked up thing is that this might actually have more of an impact on many Americans than actual civilian deaths 'elsewhere' do.
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
The "San Francisco" stadium which is two counties away and must be reached with a combination of heavy rail (Caltrain) and light rail (VTA).
That place could get kaboomed by hostile actors and SF would barely notice.
It'll say: "Zimmerman Flew, Tyler Knew. TURK 182!"
If you are a terrorist organization and are planning a sophisticated attack, why in the world would you "tip your hand" this far in advance?
Why not cut the cables a couple of hours in advance?
Not saying it isn't a valid concern, but something doesn't seem right. I think the more obvious explanation is that there are disgruntled (that is probably one of the funniest words in the English language, btw) people in the area who want to shit on everyone else.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
You can buy a drone like this (http://ebay.to/1lzsmj8) that can lift 15 pounds of weight for under $10k. Imagine someone with a van and 3 or more of these loaded with plastic explosives. Many can even be set to fly a preset GPS pattern. A moderately capable individual could launch a series of these miles from the event and have them drop their payload into the Superbowl or some other large event. They wouldn't likely directly kill thousands, but I bet hundreds would be killed just from the stampede of people trying to get out. Especially if multiple attacks were happening. And this action would have a decade plus multi-billion dollar impact of causing people to fear going to large events like this. It could be the end of attending professional sports as we know it.
And you may say they could just put domes on arenas to protect people. I suspect 15lbs of high explosive could punch a hole in most domed structures.
Ninjas don't carry tic tacs
Frisco has earthquakes for that. just ask Major League Baseball.
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?