UpdatedSun, September 13, 2026 at 2:42 AM UTC
A cybersecurity expert warned that major U.S. cities could face “cyber 9/11” attacks on key infrastructure in the future, during which the city’s millions of residents could lose electricity and water supplies.
Fears around cyber warfare have escalated in recent weeks as associates and executives at top artificial intelligence companies in Silicon Valley and national security officials alike have warned of potential threats from foreign adversaries.
During such cyberattacks, millions of residents in major cities such as New York and Los Angeles could be placed under dire conditions such as widespread blackouts, leaving them without access to communications and credit cards.
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At the same time, hospitals scramble without key medical devices, fresh water wells and sewage shut down while food and medication shortages unfold, likely sparking absolute mayhem.
Annie Fixler, a cyber expert at the think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told The Daily Mail that major cities could become “uninhabitable in a matter of hours” if such an attack rocked the nation.
“If you don’t have systems that remove wastewater, you can make a city uninhabitable in a matter of hours,” she said, warning it is unlikely that a city would be able have enough water bottles shipped on public roads to survive such a scenario.
Fixler’s stark warning comes after some of her colleagues published a book, titled “Axis of Aggressors,” in June about the threat U.S. authoritarian adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea pose, urging Washington to take action.
The book’s authors note how Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine warned Congress in June 2025 that Beijing, Moscow, Tehran and Pyongyang were “pursuing unprecedented levels of cooperation.”
Currently, North Korean troops have been deployed to the frontlines in Ukraine to assist the Russians and Chinese chemicals are fueling Iran’s ballistic missile program, pointing to the ramping up of collaboration among those nations, the authors add.
Fixler alleged to The Daily Mail, citing her colleagues’ research, that Beijing is in a position to hire hackers from Russia, Iran and North Korea to carry on such a cyber attack. She claims the attack could be part of a larger Chinese effort to destabilize the U.S. before launching a looming military offensive to seize Taiwan.
Subsquently, President Donald Trump had to take extra precautions before traveling to Beijing in May to avoid potential cyber threats.
NATO officials have long warned of concerns about Russian cyber warfare threatening the military alliance. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spoke about potential Russian cyberattacks against Europe earlier this week, while speaking about the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Russia’s brutal attacks against Ukraine are unrelenting. Russia is suffering enormous losses, now estimated at more than 40,000 killed or seriously wounded every month,” he said. “Despite those heavy losses, Putin shows no willingness to bring the war to an end.”
He continued, “Instead, Russia repeatedly strikes Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, often targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and at the same time, the list of Russia’s malign hybrid activities across Europe grows longer and longer: cyberattacks, sabotage, arson, airspace violations, drone incidents.”
