In 1988, Anthony Fauci was just a few years into his job as director of America's Top

Infectious Disease Agency. With the toll of the AIDS epidemic passing 100,000 dead, he

received angry letters from gay rights activists calling him a murderer for failing to find

a treatment. As a speaker at the 4th International Conference on AIDS that year, he was also

caught up in a more unusual attack. Sloppy discs labeled as AIDS education software were

mailed to conference attendees. The discs contained malicious code, a virus that locked computer

files. The victims' printer spat out a ransom demand, restoring access required

mailing $189 to a PO box in Panama. The man behind the stunt was Harvard trained

evolutionary biologist Joseph Popp. His lawyers said he was a Robin Hood, raising money

to fund alternative AIDS education programs. But, in the end, a judge ruled him unfit to

stand trial on grounds of insanity. The doctor had taken to wearing a cardboard box on his

head. Mad or not, Dr. Popp had launched the first ever ransomware attack, while the

internet was in its infancy.

This is Chex and Balance.

I'm John Prado, the economist's U.S. editor, and each week we take one big theme shaping

American politics and explore it in depth.

Today, is America properly protected from cyber attack?

A ransomware attack shut down one of America's biggest fuel pipelines. Drivers have been warned

not to panic by petrol ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, and meanwhile the Biden administration

spending plans involve expanding America's high-tech energy infrastructure, increasing

opportunities for this kind of internet-enabled ambush.

How vulnerable is America?

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