Energy

In the Russian-Ukraine war, why do cyberattacks on the Energy sector matter?

The energy sector provides essential services in countries, and cyberattacks against this sector can cause outages or shortages of energy, which also has repercussions on the ability of other sectors to function. Cyberattacks and disruptions of the sector will increase the pressure on the supply of energy in the wider market - which is interconnected regionally and globally - and heightens tensions geopolitically. For example, recent cyberattacks on European energy companies are believed to be linked to the recent imposition of sanctions on Russia. So called hacktivist collectives - acting in the name of activism - are also targeting energy companies by compromising their systems, exfiltrating data and publishing it online.

What types of attacks have been documented against the sector?

What impact do these attacks have on people?

The impact of destructive or disruptive cyberattacks on the energy sector are felt across society as a whole. If an attack leads to the downtime of critical infrastructure, this can result in the disruption of access to electricity and gas to thousands of households, public services (e.g. health, transport, education and emergency services), organizations and businesses.

Hack and leak attacks, leading to large volumes of data published online, can have repercussions on individuals whose personal information is exposed, putting them at risk from digital or physical attacks by actors seeking to exploit this information. Hack and leak operations, where information is weaponized and taken out of context to spread disinformation, can also sow distrust in organizations.

What are the primary digital impacts observed on the sector by country?