Imagine Jim Cantore in the classic blue slicker, microphone in hand, battling the winds and rains coming off the gulf coast as a category five hurricane makes landfall. He’s almost horizontal, hanging on to a lamp post as debris flies violently past his head and the forces of nature threaten every fiber of his being.

Now imagine Jim Cantore in board shorts and ball cap, calmly sitting along the same gulf coast sipping a beer and checking emails on his laptop, until the power grid fails and the wifi goes dead, and the beer cooler starts to thaw, and the cell towers cease to function, and the music from the speakers behind the bar go silent, and the patrons eye each other in wonder.

According to a recent Axios analysis, that is the hurricane we should fear the most, a cyber attack so fierce that it cripples infrastructure and sows chaos on a moment’s notice. And the group of experts they consulted suggest such a catastrophe is probably overdue. So stick that in your algorithm and smoke it.

A Relative Sense Of Urgency

The obvious question remains why we don’t all move to the country and stock our fallout shelters with the complete list of official prepper accoutrements. If Chicken Little is right, why are you reading this from the comfort of your IT office? Stock up on canned goods and water, not to mention whiskey and ammunition.

The reality, of course, is daunting. The experts are, well, experts, and we should heed the warnings and prepare for what seems like the inevitable. Part of that preparation, though, begins at home. Take the necessary steps to protect your organization from disasters of all types, including hurricane-force cyberattacks. Before you start screwing the plywood to the windows, though, call ICS. We’re like the Weather Channel of the cyber world. Only better.