Hackers linked to Iran’s regime managed to shut down a power station in Britain for four days, according to a report in The Telegraph. The report says this marks the first time actors connected to Tehran have successfully disabled an energy facility in the country through a cyberattack.
3+British officials declined to identify the affected power station but clarified it was a relatively small site, and that the incident did not impact electricity supply in the country or Britain’s broader energy production capacity. According to the report, the station was disabled while its staff were working to restore it to operation. Following the incident, the British government briefed CEOs of energy companies in the country and sent businesses guidance on required protective measures. The incident was reported to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which operates under the intelligence agency GCHQ and provides guidance to organizations on protecting national infrastructure.
3+According to The Telegraph, the attack occurred alongside a series of cyberattacks against water infrastructure in the United States, which hit facilities in 12 states and raised concerns at the White House. The FBI attributed the attacks to “malicious cyber actors,” and officials in the American administration later assessed that the source of the threat was likely Iran. Intelligence services in Britain and the United States have warned in recent years about activity by hacker groups from Russia, China, Iran and North Korea against critical infrastructure and government bodies. According to the report, cyberattacks attributed to Iran have also been reported in other European countries, including Germany, Poland, Finland, Belgium and Albania.
3+Sources familiar with the details assessed that the goal of the attack in Britain was not necessarily to cause actual harm to civilians, but to prove that actors linked to the Revolutionary Guards are capable of penetrating systems in the country and disabling sensitive infrastructure sites. Britain has dozens of small power stations connected to the electricity grid, some of which are gas-powered and used to generate electricity only during peak hours. According to the report, shutting down such a facility for several days is not expected to damage the national grid, and in many cases there are backups for factories, institutions and hospitals.
3+A British government spokesperson told The Telegraph that the UK energy system is “very resilient,” and that the government is working with the energy sector to protect infrastructure. According to the spokesperson, the incident affected only a small energy facility, and at no point was there any danger to the broader energy system in the country.