I am almost certain the failure of the magnetosphere is caused by the absorption of electrons by the gradually increasing density of the plasma cloud the solar system has entered, and I predicted this 8 years ago. The real "scary' part of it is that this plasma cloud increases the electrical conductivity of interplanetary space between the Earth and the Sun, meaning if there were to be a huge CME during an event like what we just saw, the results would be undeniable as there would be mass deaths of many species all over the Sunlit side of the Earth and failure of all types of electronic based equipment.