The complexity of modern energy systems, coupled with the rise of digital technologies, has created new vulnerabilities and emerging threats.

Electricity and gas pipelines are strongly interconnected across Europe and beyond the EU. An outage in one country might trigger blackouts or shortages of supply in other areas and countries. The cyber-attacks in in 2015 and December 2016, which resulted in mass consumer disconnection, proved that organizations and individuals responsible for the security of national electricity systems have to deal with complex, resource-intensive, coordinated-attacks.

‍

The cyber-attacks in Ukraine in 2015 and December 2016, which resulted in mass consumer disconnection, proved that organisations and individuals responsible for the security of national electricity systems have to deal with complex, resource-intensive, coordinated cyber-attacks.

‍

‍

‍

‍

Many components of the energy system were designed and constructed long before cybersecurity considerations were taken into account. This legacy infrastructure now needs to interface with the latest state-of-the-art equipment for automation and control, such as smart meters, connected appliances, and from the 'Internet of Things,' without being exposed to cyber threats.

‍

‍

‍

‍

The cyber threat landscape has significantly deteriorated in recent years, as evidenced by substantial increase in supply chain attacks and the exploitation of vulnerabilities in software, operating mobile devices and personal computers, and virtual private networks.

‍

Here are some of the most significant emerging cybersecurity threats facing the energy sector:

Ransomware Attacks

Supply Chain Attacks

Cyber-Physical Attacks on Industrial Control Systems (ICS)

Energy Sector-Specific Malware

Threats from the Transition to Renewable Energy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Attacks

Quantum Computing Threats

‍

To defend against these emerging threats, the energy sector must adopt proactive cybersecurity measures, including:

• Regularly updating and patching systems to close known vulnerabilities.
• Investing in advanced monitoring to detect unusual behavior and potential intrusions in real-time.
• Implementing network segmentation to reduce the spread of malware across systems.
• Employee training to raise awareness about phishing, social engineering, and security best practices.
• Collaboration between public and private sectors to share threat intelligence and improve overall resilience.

‍