Cybertheft is now measured in the billions of dollars. However, all the cyber-espionage and cybercrime we have seen to date pales in comparison to a strikingly unreported threat to life as we know it: a cyberattack on our power grid. In Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath, the longtime Nightline anchor and recipient of 42 Emmys reveals just how likely such an attack is, how calamitous it could be, and how unprepared our government is.

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but in fact such an attack could be instantly and anonymously launched from a single laptop anywhere in the world. The impact on cities would be especially serious, with devastating food and water shortages after only days. In a previously classified letter, ten senior national security advisors warned that such an attack could knock out power in several states for months.

Koppel was incredulous when he learned how ill-prepared our government is, and became determined to dig deeper. In the course of his research he interviewed scores of national leaders across government and industry, often getting conflicting reports about whether there is an adequate plan for such a disaster, or whether there is any plan at all.

With urgency and authority, one of the most renowned journalists examines a threat unique to our time and evaluates potential ways to prepare for a catastrophe that is all but inevitable. In conversation with Robert Siegel, senior host of NPR’s award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. Book signing to follow.