SERIOUS DIGITAL SABOTAGE: The head of Holland’s AIVD intelligence service issues yet another warning.

Bertholee highlighted how in 2012 the computers at Saudi Arabia’s largest oil company came under brief attack, or how three years later Ukrainian electricity companies were hacked causing a massive blackout lasting several hours.

The world’s infrastructure was heavily interconnected, which had huge benefits, but also “vulnerabilities”.

“Imagine what would happen if the entire banking system were sabotaged for a day, two days, for a week,” he asked.

“Or if there was a breakdown in our transportation network. Or if air traffic controllers faced cyberattacks while directing flights. The consequences could be catastrophic.”

Added Bertholee: “Sabotage on one of these sectors could have major public repercussions, causing unrest, chaos and disorder.”

In 1994 I heard a U.S. Navy captain who was a computer systems expert describe how someone might attack an electrical grid. So the threat isn’t new. But it has evolved.