Retrofitting grids to allow for more renewable energy sources to generate electricity is opening the door for vulnerabilities such as computer hacking. Security experts claim that the addition of wind, solar, and smart grids have opened portals ideal for grid hacking. The reasoning is that with conventional energy, the grid was only operating on a couple of sources; however, with the addition of renewable energy, various sources are used for power generation.
Most recently, the US and Europe saw their grids attacked by hackers. The group known as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear focused on businesses in the US, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, and Poland, compromising industrial control systems (ICS) which is used to manage certain sections of power plants. The group is believed to have Russian affiliations, initially targeting defense and aviation companies in North America. The US Department of Homeland Security-funded Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) said the group used phishing emails, redirects to compromised websites, and Trojan update installers via malware called Havex.
Ernst & Young LLP surveyed 61 power and utility companies that showed one-third of the responders spending more than $3 million annually on information security including cyber threat protection.
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