Nashville explosion reveals U.S. vulnerability to attacks on tech infrastructure | Opinion

• Ramon J. Ryan is a third-year juris doctor candidate at Vanderbilt University and the editor-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law.

Like many Nashvillians, I woke on Christmas morning to the shocking news that an explosion had rocked our downtown.

That morning, we all sought answers to questions like who was responsible, how much damage had been caused, and most importantly, whether anyone had been hurt or killed.

As the day went on, we learned that the explosion was likely intentional and caused limited causalities but massive property damage. However, as reports of massive internet outages across the Southeast began pouring in around noon on Christmas day, a new question emerged: Just how badly was Nashville’s technology infrastructure damaged?

It is now clear that the RV that exploded early on Christmas morning was parked next to AT&T’s Nashville transmission building, a critical telecommunications facility for the region.

Widespread outage surprises experts

As Christmas day went on, it became clear just how critical it was. Centered in the Middle Tennessee region and fanning out across the country, there were widespread reports on Christmas afternoon of individuals with no internet, cellular, or landline services.

Around 24 counties and local municipalities in Middle Tennessee and some eastern parts of the state experienced issues with 911 operations, leading them to set up alternate emergency phone lines for the public to get through.

Maureen Culberson, Executive Director of the Tennessee Emergency Number Association, which supports emergency response teams throughout the state, said she had never seen an outage this widespread in her 32-year career.

For several hours on Christmas day, flights in and out of Nashville International Airport were halted, citing “telecommunication issues.” Further, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, currently dealing with a surge of COVID-19 cases, reported that its phone lines were down and encouraged individuals needing medical assistance to go directly to emergency rooms rather than attempt to reach the hospital by phone.

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Leaders must heed cyberattack warnings and prepare

These reports expose just how fragile and unprotected our technology infrastructure is, both here in Nashville and across the country. Cybersecurity experts have warned for years about the possibility of major cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.

As recently as this past October, the Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton warned that his country must be prepared to counter prolonged and catastrophic cyberattacks on critical infrastructure that could disrupt entire industries.

And in the most recent election cycle, the FBI warned that Iran and Russia were targeting the United States’ election infrastructure through information technology systems.

However, the Christmas Day explosion in Nashville revealed how vulnerable to attack the physical infrastructure supporting our telecommunications systems is.

As the search for answers continue, my hope is that local, state, and national leaders seriously consider how much disruption both cyber- and physical attacks on technology infrastructure can cause and prepare contingencies for those disruptions.

In a world increasingly connected by and dependent on technology, we must come to grips with the fact that technology infrastructure will only become a more tantalizing target for those seeking to cause disruption and chaos, and act accordingly.

Ramon J. Ryan is a third-year juris doctor candidate at Vanderbilt University and the editor-in-chief of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law.