Cyber Mayday and the Day After

CHAPTER 6 Where Do We Go When the Power Goes Off?: Security Operations Centers Require People, Processes, and Technology Components

Remember, when disaster strikes, the time to prepare has passed.

—Steven Cyros

The lights began to flicker in the Landmark Office Building in downtown Lansing, Michigan, about 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, August 14, 2003. The leadership team was wrapping up the biweekly business meeting. When the lights went out, the 15 men and women in the room sat in stunned silence.

Downtown streets quickly filled with people scurrying around, wondering what was happening and how to get home. Getting out of the parking garage became a 30-minute challenge in accident avoidance. Several commuters volunteered to direct traffic on busy street corners.

Cell phones either didn't work or were constantly busy. The real shock came with a radio announcement that the entire northeastern United States, including New York City, was experiencing a blackout. No one knew the cause. Was this another 9/11? Could this be a terrorist attack? What was going on?

ASSESSING THE SITUATION

As Emergency Management Coordinator for the Michigan Department of Information Technology (DIT), I (Dan Lohrmann) reported to the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), which was on generator power. As I walked into the underground facility, I thanked God we had run three emergency exercises in the past five months to prepare for moments like these. On arrival, I learned the full scope of the outage ...