The attacks on two power substations in Moore County, North Carolina, earlier this month are part of a significant threat to the nation's critical infrastructure, Chris Krebs, former director of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during the Trump administration, told CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
The attack was "unquestionably deliberate," Krebs said, explaining that the tactics the attackers used and "then going in and targeting very specific, critical equipment in that site — there's no question that it was premeditated, that it was coordinated, it was deliberate."
The attacks left tens of thousands of people without electricity while authorities repaired the damage.
Krebs said that these type of attacks "are catching on and they're informing much more radical behaviors both at a national level and as a local level," adding that these actions are carried out by extremists who "are online, they are white supremacist groups that are ... pulling down and developing playbooks."
He said, "Combine that with the fact that there were half a dozen similar sorts of events in the Pacific Northwest. There have been events throughout the southeast. So it says to me that there is something broader going on here, and perhaps we are paying more attention now. But there is a significant threat to our nation's critical infrastructure. And right now both the utility operators, as well as law enforcement, I think, are doing a hard look at what needs to change and how do we counter this threat."
Krebs said that these type of attacks are "a confirmation that QAnon is a global phenomenon that is catching on. And, actually, I think in part what we're seeing now is that it's broadening and it's almost becoming mainstream."