Utilities


  • BVI Electricity Corporation suffers cyber attack

    August 20, 2024

    The BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) announced on Monday, August 19, that it had fallen victim to a cyberattack. The power company stated that the attack has impacted both their internal and external operations. While the full details of the cyberattack have not been disclosed, BVIEC has assured the public that they are working closely with experts ...

  • UK: 48 cyber breaches of utility companies recorded last year, a 586% increase on 2022

    July 29, 2024

    The number of successful cyber attacks against UK utility companies has risen to 48 in 2023, a 586% increase on the seven cases in 2022, says global specialty (re)insurance group Chaucer. So far these cyber attacks have been largely restricted to the theft of data or ransomware attacks. There have been concerns that cyber attacks designed ...

  • Stopping Chinese cyberattacks is officially now the biggest priority for US security forces

    June 25, 2024

    The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has shuffled its priorities to place battling the “cyber and other threats posed by the People’s Republic of China” at the top of the list, at least until the end of 2025. China has been conducting numerous cyber attacks against US infrastructure, particularly focussing on internet-facing endpoints within water ...

  • Most recent cyber attacks on water systems won’t be the last, says cybersecurity expert

    May 23, 2024

    More government agencies are taking steps to shore up their cybersecurity measures. Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would step up inspections of water facilities that may be vulnerable to cyberattacks. Why are government agencies more at risk when it comes to cyberattacks and operational vulnerabilities? Read more… Source: MSN News Sign up for our Newsletter Related:

  • Leicester street lights stuck on all day due to cyber attack

    April 22, 2024

    A cyber attack targeting Leicester City Council has led to some street lights being stuck on all day. The attack crippled the authority’s services seven weeks ago and led to confidential documents being published online by the hackers, including rent statements and applications to buy council houses. Read more… Source: MSN News Sign up for our Newsletter Related:

  • UK: Water group made loss in wake of cyber attack

    February 19, 2024

    The Walsall-headquartered integrated serviced group, which operates South Staffordshire Water and Cambridge Water, posted a pre-tax loss of £23.1 million for the year to the end of March from a £7.6m profit a year earlier. The losses was put down to the impact of rising costs including on energy and chemicals, higher than expected water production ...

  • UK: Contact details and national security numbers could have been stolen from Southern Water customers following cyber attack

    February 12, 2024

    The announcement, which went live on Southern Water’s website earlier today (February 12), confirms that ‘a limited part’ of the company’s server estate is at risk following an illegal intrusion earlier this year. Apologising for the breach, a spokesperson confirmed that the company is working with “expert technical advisers to confirm who is at risk,” and ...

  • Veolia North America hit by ransomware attack

    January 24, 2024

    A department in Veolia North America, a transnational company offering water, energy and waste recycling management services, suffered a ransomware attack which resulted in the theft of some personal data, and forced the company to take parts of its infrastructure offline. In a press release published on the Veolia website, the company confirmed its Municipal Water ...

  • UK: Cybercriminals claim to have stolen data from Southern Water

    January 24, 2024

    Cybercriminals claim they have stolen data from a water company’s IT systems. Southern Water, which has hundreds of thousands of customers in Kent, says it has detected suspicious activity and launched an investigation led by cybersecurity experts. But it says there is no evidence to suggest “customer relationships or financial systems” have been affected. In a ...

  • Singapore cyber defenders fend off simulated attacks against cellular, gas and airport systems

    November 24, 2023

    As simulated attackers tried to overload an electrical system, cripple a water distribution network and shut down a gas plant, cyber defence operators across 26 national agencies sprung into action to neutralise the assaults on a fictional state’s critical infrastructure. These were among the scenarios that more than 200 participants went through from Nov 22 to ...

  • 2023 Zscaler ThreatLabz Report Indicates 400% Growth in IoT Malware Attacks

    October 24, 2023

    This Zscaler ThreatLabz blog serves as a brief synopsis of the key points revealed in their 2023 Enterprise IoT and OT Threat Report. The report explores the growth of Internet of Things (IoT) device traffic and IoT malware attacks, in addition to how legacy vulnerabilities, targeted devices, and specific industries have become central players in the ...

  • Cyberattacks targeting utility firms at ‘alarmingly high levels’

    August 2, 2023

    Utility firms such as electricity providers have become the new frontier for cyberattacks, reaching “alarmingly high levels” last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave fresh impetus to cyber criminals to attack electricity grids and demand ransoms from energy companies scarcely able to defend themselves due to a cybersecurity ...

  • A Tale of Two Cities’ water attacks

    July 27, 2023

    There have been more than 130 control system cyber incidents in water/wastewater utilities. Like Oldsmar and Discovery Bay, most of these incidents have occurred in small water utilities. Many of these incidents were not publicly disclosed, nor were the utilities required to disclose these incidents. Additionally, some of the real cases that were made public were ...

  • Utility cyber threats on the rise, but experts say don’t forget basics

    July 12, 2023

    “There’s an increase in threat actors targeting critical infrastructure,” said Katell Thielemann, a Gartner research analyst focused on risk and security for cyber-physical systems. “And there’s an enhanced sensitivity that threat actors are probing infrastructure.” Since 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual summary of electric disturbance events shows an uptick in cyber activity. And cyber ...

  • Charges filed in cyber attack on East Bay water treatment plant

    July 6, 2023

    A 53-year-old Tracy man is facing federal criminal charges in connection with an alleged attack on the computer systems of a Discovery Bay water treatment plant more than two years ago, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Rambler Gallo was a full-time employee of a private Massachusetts-based company that contracted with Discovery Bay to operate the ...

  • Gone Phishing: Hunting for Malicious Industrial-Themed Emails to Prevent Operational Technology Compromises

    January 17, 2023

    Phishing is one of the most common techniques used to deliver malware and gain access to target networks. This is not only because of its simplicity and scalability, but also because of its efficiency in exploiting vulnerabilities in human behavior. Despite the existence of sophisticated detection tooling and security awareness of phishing techniques, defenders across ...

  • Hackers stole data from multiple electric utilities in recent ransomware attack

    December 27, 2022

    Hackers stole data belonging to multiple electric utilities in an October ransomware attack on a US government contractor that handles critical infrastructure projects across the country, according to a memo describing the hack obtained by CNN. Federal officials have closely monitored the incident for any potential broader impact on the US power sector while private investigators ...

  • After ransomware hits Colombian energy firm, Moody’s says low patch rate suggests inadequacies in cyber practices

    December 22, 2022

    A ransomware attack at top Colombian energy company Empresas Publicas de Medellin (EPM) may damage its credit quality, setting an alarm clock for the critical infrastructure industry to develop efficient mitigation practices and vulnerability management programs, Moody’s said. EPM, one of Colombia’s largest public energy, water, and gas providers suffered from a ransomware attack reported on ...

  • UK: Cambridge Water customers’ bank details published to dark web after cyber attack

    December 3, 2022

    Bank account details of Cambridge Water customers have been published to the dark web, following a cyber attack. Customers have been left alarmed and furious after learning that names and current addresses, sort codes and account numbers are among the data stolen by cyber criminals from its parent company, South Staffordshire plc, back in August. Cambridge Water ...

  • Cybersecurity laws to be updated to boost UK protection from cyber attacks

    November 30, 2022

    The UK’s cybersecurity laws will be updated to require outsourced IT providers to meet security standards as part of efforts to better protect supply chains, the Government has announced. The Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations will be updated so third-party firms providing IT services to businesses will be compelled to have effective cybersecurity measures in ...