The FBI has issued an official alert to the public about the potential for malicious cyber actors to disrupt power generation, steal intellectual property, or hold critical information for ransom within the U.S. renewable energy sector.
The warning comes as federal and local governments increasingly advocate for renewable energies, expanding the industry and creating more opportunities for cyber threats. According to the FBI, a 2019 incident underscored these risks when a private company lost visibility into approximately 500 megawatts of its wind and photovoltaic sites across California, Utah, and Wyoming due to a denial-of-service attack exploiting an unpatched firewall.
Read more…
Source: MSN News
Related:
- Shining a Light on SolarCity: Practical Exploitation of the X2e IoT Device
February 17, 2021
In 2019, Mandiant’s Red Team discovered a series of vulnerabilities present within Digi International’s ConnectPort X2e device, which allows for remote code execution as a privileged user. Specifically, Mandiant’s research focused on SolarCity’s (now owned by Tesla) rebranded ConnectPort X2e device, which is used in residential solar installations. Mandiant performs this type of work both ...
- Eletrobras, Copel energy companies hit by ransomware attacks
February 5, 2021
Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras (Eletrobras) and Companhia Paranaense de Energia (Copel), two major electric utilities companies in Brazil have announced that they suffered ransomware attacks over the past week. State-controlled, both are key players in the country. Copel being the largest in the state of Paraná while Eletrobras is the largest power utility company in Latin America ...
- Improving Your Security Posture with the Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative
January 19, 2021
A few years ago, I worked alongside some oil commodity traders. Environmental concerns aside, I never realized how many parts were required to get the oil out of the ground, not to mention everything else that finally resulted in the production of refined products that surround our lives. As a cybersecurity professional, I was more ...
- Digitally Signed Bandook Trojan Reemerges in Global Spy Campaign
November 30, 2020
A wave of targeted cyberattack campaigns bent on espionage is cresting around the globe, using a strain of a 13-year old backdoor trojan named Bandook. According to Check Point Research, Bandook was last spotted being used in 2015 and 2017/2018, in the “Operation Manul” and “Dark Caracal” campaigns, respectively. The malware then all but disappeared from ...
- Adventures in MQTT Part II: Identifying MQTT Brokers in the Wild
November 18, 2020
The use of publicly accessible MQTT brokers is prevalent across numerous verticals and technology fields. I was able to identify systems related to energy production, hospitality, finance, healthcare, pharmaceutical manufacturing, building management, surveillance, workplace safety, vehicle fleet management, shipping, construction, natural resource management, agriculture, smart homes and far more. Hackers have been sounding alarms about this ...
- Enel Group hit by ransomware again, Netwalker demands $14 million
October 27, 2020
Multinational energy company Enel Group has been hit by a ransomware attack for the second time this year. This time by Netwalker, who is asking a $14 million ransom for the decryption key and to not release several terabytes of stolen data. Enel is one of the largest players in the European energy sector, with more ...