From: Intelligent Utility
By Dave Chronister
Cyber threats against the electric grid are escalating dramatically.
According to a new report by Dell Security, cyber attacks on supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems doubled last year–and they’ve increased 600% since 2012. As alarming as those statistics are, another key finding is even more troubling–physically disruptive attacks are becoming increasingly common. In fact, 25% of all cyber incidents last year were a specific type of attack that can flood SCADA systems and shut down mechanical devices, potentially disrupting physical operations. These attacks are expected to worsen over the next few months and years–and the US is the third most targeted country in the world. The Department of Homeland Security’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) similarly found that critical infrastructure attacks are up, the energy industry is the most heavily targeted sector of all (32% of attacks) and “denial-of-service” attacks have become a favorite of attackers.
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