PANAMA CITY, Panama—If China wanted to disable the Panama Canal to stop the flow of military or cargo ships through it, it likely could do so through an attack on the software system, military veteran and “Hot Zone” podcaster Chuck Holton says.
Using a Chinese ship to physically block the canal could cause a temporary disruption, but a cyberattack would likely create a much more serious issue, according to Chuck Holton, a former U.S. Army Ranger turned war correspondent.
If China were to “scrambled the software that is used to open and close the locks, or something like that, now you’ve got a bigger problem,” Holton said, adding that it is “very likely” China already has the ability to “scramble” the technology used to operate the Panama Canal.
The “software that runs the canal, very likely, is also infected with Chinese hackers,” he…
