In the past few years there have been landmark changes to the Energy and Utility industries; from the increased connectivity of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, process control systems (PCS) and infrastructure to deliver critical products and services, to the game changing power of ‘Stuxnet’ and ‘Night Dragon’. All these have raised the attention at both national and international levels to ensure the security of critical information infrastructure.
Energy and utilities providers face persistent cyber threats from terrorists, agents of industrial espionage, and malicious insiders, as well as inadvertent compromises due to user error. Having the right security controls in place can greatly reduce the risk of a successful cyber-attack. Last year cyber-attacks cost the UK in excess of €30bn. With the ‘Night Dragon’ attacks targeting the energy industry, it seems likely that this cost will escalate year on year unless clear action is taken. With the issue of cyber security and critical infrastructure protection rapidly rising to the top of the agenda in many national governments, there are set to be a lot of changes in this area of the next 2 years which will be vital to keep aware of.
