Cyber ​​risk: 90% energy infrastructure at risk

Between 5 and 10 thousand cyber attacks occur every hour and currently eight out of ten companies in the Italian energy sector present potential vulnerabilities to cyber crime.

When we talk about energy, we are talking about one of the most important supply chains for the country both because it guarantees electricity, water and gas to citizens, and because it has figures of extraordinary importance, with a total turnover of around 60 billion.

Precisely for this reason the energy sector is more likely to become a strategic target of the so-called criminal hackeralso in terms of geopolitical conflicts, to the point of being the target of possible terrorist acts. Just think of the fact that a cyber attack could leave entire metropolitan areas without water and electricity. We live in a reality that is completely made up of electricity and being deprived of it can lead to highly significant inconveniences.

How prepared are we for these dangers?

According to an analysis by Swancan, only 20% of companies in the energy sector are categorized as virtuous when it comes to cybersecurity. Considering that in the last year, due to Covid-19, the percentage of companies that have activated smart working has become increasingly higher, it is clear that it is essential for companies to put these issues at the forefront.

Contrary to what you might think, the most classic way to install malicious software is also the most banal: e-mails. Even when it comes to information security literacy, we are still very unprepared: just think that the most widespread password is «Password1».

One of the best weapons against cyber crime is certainly staff education, even if this means spending money and companies are often not willing to do so.

Especially the energy sector has plants built 30, 40 or 50 years ago. We are talking about old structures, which use obsolete operating systems, never updated, and therefore very vulnerable. Often the terminals cannot be touched because otherwise the suppliers’ guarantee will become invalid. Who, to update them, often ask for very high prices.

How did world powers react?

In recent months, President Joe Biden signed an executive order, with a budget of approximately 10 billion dollars, to increase the cybersecurity of the United States.

The directive came following a series of attacks, such as the one against the oil pipeline Colonial pipelinestuck for 6 days who found himself paying as much as 5 million dollars to Darkside, a group of Russian professional cyber criminals who attacked the invoicing system making it impossible to charge for delivered diesel and petrol.

This new directive from the President of the United States is aimed at setting performance standards for the technology and systems used by private companies in these industries.

The new standards will be voluntary, a senior Biden administration official explained. However, he stressed that the administration can seek solutions, with the help of Congress, to require the kind of technological improvements that would defend against certain cyberattacks.