Electrical disruptions caused by squirrels

Ground squirrels have interfered with underground nuclear missile sites at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

[11] Prevention is complicated by the ability of squirrels to bypass plastic animal guards, gnaw through insulation and squeeze through small openings into substations.

It has been discovered that squirrels are causing more damage to critical infrastructure than cyber wars launched by enemy states or organizations.

[14] John C. Inglis, the former deputy director of the U.S. National Security Agency, said in 2015 that he judged the electrical grid was as likely to be paralyzed by a natural disaster as by a cyberattack and added: "[F]rankly, the No.

"[22][23] Similar concerns exist in Germany, where in 2005, a "cyber squirrel" crippled the entire electrical grid south of the River Elster for an hour.

[n 1] Cris Thomas has said that as of January 2017[update] in the United States there have been six deaths associated with squirrel interference with infrastructure, such as downed power lines (and two with other animals).

[18] One commentator criticized the UK press for what he saw as an emphasis on "the ethnic struggle between Britain's populations of red and grey squirrels, and the latter's demonization (as immigrants and terrorists) and threatened eradication".