Fox News seemed determined to wring as much fear out of the Sony hack attack as possible this morning. First, the host “just asked” if our entire economy might crash next. Regular guest John Layfield kicked it up a notch by acting ready to start World War III by having North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-Un killed. Unlike Sony's The Interview movie, however, Layfield was not joking. Unfortunately.
Bulls & Bears host Brenda Buttner opened a discussion by deliberately trying to scare the pants off everyone. Saying that Sony could be “just the beginning,” she noted that the (Republican) House cybersecurity chairman warned that our power grid and even Wall Street could be next. “So if state-sponsored hackers crash those, will our economy crash with it?” Buttner “wondered.” Later, she “asked,” “Lights out for the economy?”
Regular guest Gary B. Smith thought it would be even worse. “90% of the U.S. population could perish” as a result, he said. Fortunately, several of the others on the panel disagreed.
However, Layfield talked murder.
LAYFIELD: Admiral Michael Rogers, the head of cyber command, just last month in front of Congress, said it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.
We have been hacked by the Chinese, by the Russians, specifically for over 15 years now. And sanctions do not work. Look, if North Korea is to blame, I’m for going in there and taking this guy (Kim Jong-Un) out. Not in the movie, I’m for taking this guy out, that’s the problem.
But with China, it’s a matter of mutual destruction. We have hacked them, they have hacked us, and so we can shut down Beijing if they shut down New York. Same thing with Russia. The problem are the rogue states. Iran now says they have the second largest cyber army in the world, and they spent a lot of money trying to get back at us for what we tongue-in-cheek said we did. …So we need to decentralize our grid, we need more hackers.
Layfield didn’t seem to consider the repercussions of “taking out” a world leader, especially one allied with Russia and China.
Maybe he should go himself if he thinks it’s such a great idea.
Watch it below, from today's Bulls & Bears.