Survey: 56% of Utilities Experienced Cyberattacks Last Year - Could Be More Vulnerable Than Expected

By B.N. Frank

Cyberattacks at utility companies are NOT new. Experts warn they are likely to increase because of wireless utility “Smart” Grids and “Smart” electric, gas, and water meters which are easy targets for hackers and NOT beneficial to customers in oh so many other ways (increased bills, fires and explosions (see 1, 2, 3, 4), harmful radiation emissions, etc.). As if cyberattacks weren’t scary enough.

From the Daily Energy Insider:

The utility industry may be more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats than previously realized, according to a new report by Siemens and the Ponemon Institute.

The report, “Caught in the Crosshairs: Are Utilities Keeping Up with the Industrial Cyber Threat?”, looked at how prepared utilities are for future attacks, as well as offering solutions to create a more secure power grid.

[…]

More than 1,700 utility professionals were surveyed for the study, all who are specifically responsible for security of cyber risk in Operational Technology (OT) environments at gas, solar, wind assets, and water utilities across the world.

Of those surveyed, 56 percent said they experienced at least one shutdown or operation data loss in the last 12 months, with 25 percent of respondents saying they were impacted by the powerful WannaCry or NotPetya attacks in the past two years.

Read full article

Despite all the problems associated with utility “Smart” meters and grids, utility companies, utility commissions, environmental groups, and other entities that want to collect private customer usage data, still endorse them AND force their installation along with other “Smart” technology (see 1, 2, 3, 4) to make their cities “Smart.” Dumb, dangerous, and sometimes even deadly, all because companies desperately want customer data.