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:
- Ripple20 vulnerabilities will haunt the IoT landscape for years to come
June 16, 2020
Cyber-security experts have revealed today 19 vulnerabilities in a small library designed in the 90s that has been widely used and integrated into countless of enterprise and consumer-grade products over the last 20+ years. The number if impacted products is estimated at “hundreds of millions” and includes products such as smart home devices, power grid equipment, ...
- UK electricity middleman hit by cyber-attack
May 14, 2020
Elexon, a crucial middleman in the UK power grid network, reported that it fell victim to a cyber-attack earlier today. In a short message posted on its website, the company said the incident only impacted its internal IT network and employee laptops. The company’s email server was also impacted and had been taken down, cutting employees off from crucial ...
- PoetRAT Trojan targets energy sector using coronavirus lures
April 17, 2020
Government and energy sectors are being targeted in a new campaign that weaponizes the coronavirus outbreak. On Thursday, Cisco Talos researchers Warren Mercer, Paul Rascagneres and Vitor Ventura published an analysis of a new campaign that deploys PoetRAT, a previously-undiscovered Remote Access Trojan (RAT) striking both the Azerbaijan government and utility companies. According to the team, the malware attacks supervisory control ...
- RagnarLocker ransomware hits EDP energy giant, asks for €10M
April 14, 2020
Attackers using the Ragnar Locker ransomware have encrypted the systems of Portuguese multinational energy giant Energias de Portugal (EDP) and are now asking for a 1580 BTC ransom ($10.9M or €9.9M). EDP Group is one of the largest European operators in the energy sector (gas and electricity) and the world’s 4th largest producer of wind energy. The company is present ...
- What to know about cyberattacks targeting energy pipelines
March 1, 2020
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this past month disclosed a disruptive cyberattack on a U.S. energy facility, raising new concerns about protections for energy providers. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a division of DHS, said a ransomware attack hit a “natural gas compression facility,” leading to a two-day shutdown for the entire pipeline. While the agency ...
- Ransomware Hits U.S. Electric Utility
February 27, 2020
The Reading Municipal Light Department (RMLD) was infected with ransomware, as revealed in a statement by the electric utility. RMLD did not disclose the details on how their system was infected or the demands of the group behind the malware. There was also no indication of plans to pay ransom to the threat actors. RMLD is an electric utility in ...