Cyber Blackout: How Can I Prevent A Cyberattack?

Cyberattacks are a daily threat to all of us, but the good news is there are ways to prevent them, including installing a firewall, keeping your software security up to date, ensuring endpoint protection, and training your staff on the importance of maintaining cybersecurity.

A power grid cyberattack is when hackers target power stations to interrupt the flow of energy to a company/area/country.

On Christmas eve, 2015, the first successful power grid cyberattack occurred in Ukraine. The attack took place in the early stages of the Russian intervention by a threat group by the name of Sandworm. The goal was to cause a power outage of 30 substations, leaving 230,000 people without power for 6 hours. The attack took place a few days before Christmas, which was deliberate timing, as only limited numbers of industry workers would be on hand.

In a nutshell, a power grid cyberattack is designed to cease electricity to hinder or disrupt the movements and progression of the chosen target.

Recent Cyber Attacks on Power Grids

Nowadays, countries facing conflict are particularly vulnerable to a cyber blackout. A Prime example of this would be the ongoing Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Since 2017, countries other than Ukraine have fallen victim to power grid cyber attacks. Russian and Chinese hackers have attacked power grids in Ireland, Germany, and America.

According to Julius Weitzdörfer, Research Associate at Cambridge University’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, targeting a country’s power supply has vast and immediate consequences, such as hospital systems grinding to a halt, the freshwater supply being affected, and sewage treatment centers ceasing to work.

But Russia and China aren’t the only ones launching these operations. In June 2019, there were reports that America’s military targeted Russia’s electric utilities in response to the Kremlin’s disinformation campaign. However, this story was disputed by America’s then-president, Donald Trump.

In March 2020, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity business issued a statement saying they had reason to believe they were the targets of cyberattacks, which forced them to act quickly and put in a secure plan to address any further threats.

Ransomware Attack – Colonial Pipeline

The most recent cyber security victim was the Colonial Pipeline in Houston, Texas, on May 7th, 2021, which resulted in widespread petrol shortages across key regions in the United States and a $5-million ransom paid to the attackers. 

These gangs are increasingly attacking bigger systems and corporations, often by exploiting internet-accessible Operational Technology (OT) assets, resulting in a blackout. Initially, their targets were smaller, more low-key institutions such as small-scale financial or utility organizations, as they are often less suspecting and less prepared for any form of a data attack and have fewer resources in place but can still pay a hefty ransom fee.

So, a ransomware gang targeting a larger organization such as the Colonial Pipeline is concerning and may indicate that larger energy companies need to step up with their data protection to lessen the chance they may suffer an attack because these energy companies are still very much in the firing line.

Data is never one-hundred percent safe, but being prepared for a cyber attack at any given time should lessen the impact of when/if it does happen. Implementing an insurance plan for their clients is a good way to put their minds at rest if the worst does happen.

Cybersecurity & Energy Resources: What’s the Correlation?

The energy sector is becoming increasingly at risk to malware and other attacks predominantly for geopolitics, sabotage, and financial reasons, with cyberattack and cyber security breaches soaring to an eye-watering 380% between 2014 and 2015 alone. While those attacks weren’t directly on the services themselves, they were often aimed at businesses holding information technology and data concerning these companies.

Cyberattacks or ransomware attacks are often used to send a political message by making the target extremely vulnerable. In a US Department of Energy (DoE) analysis center report, the company reported approximately 150 successful attacks between 2010 and 2014. 

The purpose was to target systems holding information regarding electricity grids, forcing each government to address critical infrastructure and bulk power system organizations as a whole to control or at least be better prepared for security issues that are expected to happen that may put these businesses (and their users) at further risk.

Cyber Threats Risk Management for the Future

Naturally, the only way to fully protect oneself from cyber security vulnerability is to ensure you’re up to date with cyber defense tools by combining machine learning and advanced cyberattack modeling to reduce the potential impact of malicious software and other vulnerabilities.

Implementing or increasing deceptive network tech will also increase your security because this will hinder any attempted system breaches and prevent access for hackers. It also helps everyone with tech access in a particular company or sector that is at risk from an attack know the basic protective methods/things to avoid to protect business security.

With the world becoming more digitized by the second, prevention is often better than cure.

Five key steps to protect your business against a cyber threat include:

• Make sure everyone in the network knows what they need to protect – and why.
• Ensure the average person in the company with access to your tech is mindful of not clicking on ransomware links. Sometimes one click is all it takes for an unfortunate event to take place.
• Keep all intellectual property secure and up to date with required updates. Implement staff training if need be and stay in control.
• Identify ways your team/system can recognize a data attack in its early stages before too much damage is made.
• Have a robust strategy in place that kicks in immediately once a threat is detected early on.
• Implement necessary recovery tactics; learn from the experience and allow it to strengthen your cybersecurity.
• Collaborate with any partners to ensure an airtight protection plan is in place (plus insurance).

Cyber protection in the energy department is a complex issue, but with the right plans, insurance, and cybersecurity software in place will help a company stay on top.