Utilities


  • 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 ...

  • Electricity/Energy Cybersecurity: Trends & Survey Response

    November 16, 2022

    Trend Micro conducted a study on the state of industrial cybersecurity in the oil and gas, manufacturing, and electricity/energy industries in 2022. Based on the results of a survey of over 900 ICS business and security leaders in the United States, Germany, and Japan, we will discuss the characteristics of each industry, the motivations and ...

  • Hive claims ransomware attack on Tata Power, begins leaking data

    October 25, 2022

    Hive ransomware group has claimed responsibility for a cyber attack disclosed by Tata Power this month. A subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Tata Group, Tata Power is India’s largest integrated power company based in Mumbai. In screenshots seen by BleepingComputer, Hive operators have posted data they claim to have stolen from Tata Power, indicating that the ransom ...

  • Utility security is so bad, US DoE offers rate cuts to improve it

    October 7, 2022

    The US Department of Energy has proposed regulations to financially reward cybersecurity modernization at power plants by offering rate deals for everything from buying new hardware to paying for outside help. In a notice of proposed rulemaking published earlier this week (which nullified a similar 2021 plan), the DoE said the time was right “to establish ...

  • Moody’s turns up the heat on ‘riskiest’ sectors for cyberattacks

    October 3, 2022

    About $22 trillion of global debt rated by Moody’s Investors Service has “high,” or “very high” cyber-risk exposure, with electric, gas and water utilities, as well as hospitals, among the sectors facing the highest risk of cyberattacks. That’s more than one-quarter (28 percent) of the $80 trillion in Moody’s rated debt across 71 global sectors, and ...

  • Criminals exploiting cost of living crisis with energy rebate scam emails

    September 7, 2022

    Criminals are cashing in on the energy crisis by offering bogus rebates to try and trick victims into handing over bank account details. Police say in the past fortnight they’ve had nearly 1,600 reports of suspicious emails with links to malicious websites designed to steal personal and financial information. The scam emails pretend to be from the ...

  • Utility Cybersecurity: Situational Awareness Cuts Risk

    March 14, 2022

    The electric utility industry is one of the most critical infrastructure industries that highly affect people’s lives and economic activities. The power grids connect the systems of power generation, substation, transmission, and distribution over a wide area. They are going modernized and under threat from nation-state attacks. In the US, Biden’s administration took action to protect ...

  • U.S. unveils plan to improve cyber defenses for water utilities

    January 27, 2022

    The White House on Thursday unveiled a plan to beef up cybersecurity in the nation’s water sector, an extension of its efforts to thwart attacks against critical infrastructure including electricity and natural gas pipeline operators. Senior administration officials said water facilities use automation and electronic networks that are vulnerable to cyber attacks, which could include producing ...

  • Arrest in Romania of a ransomware affiliate scavenging for sensitive data

    December 13, 2021

    Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) has supported the Romanian National Police (Poliția Română) and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in arresting a ransomware affiliate targeting high-profile organisations and companies for their sensitive data. The suspect – a 41-year-old Romanian national – was arrested today at his home in Craiova, Romania, in the early hours ...

  • Colorado energy company loses 25 years of data after cyberattack while still rebuilding network

    December 2, 2021

    Colorado’s Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) is still struggling to recover from a devastating cyberattack last month that took down 90% of its internal systems and caused 25 years of historical data to be lost. In an update sent to customers this week, the company said it expects to be able to begin accepting payments through its ...

  • India Releases Cybersecurity Guidelines for Power Sector

    October 22, 2021

    The Indian Government’s Power Ministry and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) recently released cybersecurity guidelines to enhance the power sector’s cybersecurity readiness. It is the first time that cybersecurity guidelines are created for the sector. CEA, under the “Central Electricity Authority (Technical Standards for Connectivity to the Grid) (Amendment) Regulations, 2019”, framed the guidelines. Moreover, all ...

  • Ongoing Cyber Threats to U.S. Water and Wastewater Systems

    October 14, 2021

    This joint advisory is the result of analytic efforts between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Security Agency (NSA) to highlight ongoing malicious cyber activity—by both known and unknown actors—targeting the information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) networks, systems, and ...

  • Utilities ‘Concerningly’ at Risk from Active Exploits

    June 14, 2021

    The amount of time that utility networks spend exposed to a known application exploit has spiked over the past two months — something analysts called out as a “concerning datapoint,” and an important reminder that ransomware isn’t the only threat utility networks need to secure against. A new report from WhiteHat Security measured the amount of ...

  • Florida water treatment plant was involved in second security incident before poisoning attempt: report

    May 21, 2021

    A new study from Dragos has found that a water treatment plant in Oldsmar, Florida — where hackers attempted to poison the town’s water earlier this year — was also involved in another potential breach at the same time. A browser being used on the plant’s network was traced back to a “watering hole” attack that ...

  • USB threats to ICS systems have nearly doubled

    April 1, 2021

    The latest Honeywell USB Threat Report 2020 indicates that the number of threats specifically targeting Operational Technology systems has nearly doubled from 16% to 28%, while the number of threats capable of disrupting those systems rose from 26% to 59% over the same period. Let’s face it. Critical infrastructure operators in manufacturing, aerospace, energy, shipping, chemical, ...

  • Critical Security Hole Can Knock Smart Meters Offline

    March 12, 2021

    Critical security vulnerabilities in Schneider Electric smart meters could allow an attacker a path to remote code execution (RCE), or to reboot the meter causing a denial-of-service (DoS) condition on the device. Schneider Electric’s PowerLogic ION/PM smart meter product line, like other smart meters, is used by consumers in their homes, but also by utility companies ...

  • WaterISAC: 15 Security Fundamentals You Need to Know

    March 10, 2021

    Attacks such as the one at Oldsmar highlight the need for water facilities to continue honing their ability to defend themselves against digital attacks. Towards that aim, they can use WaterISAC’s guidelines for water and wastewater utilities. The security fundamentals covered in those guidelines include the following: Asset Inventory Database You can’t protect what you don’t know you ...