Executives from the main energy companies in Britain were warned and asked to tighten their security in light of the nerve agent attack on a former Russian agent and his daughter.
Infrastructure companies have been on constant alert for such an attack which is a commonplace practice for operators of Britain’s infrastructure. The potential ability that Russia has to destroy the countries critical services has put fear and heightened the sense of alert for such an attack.
Some of country’s critical services include electricity grids, telecom networks and NHS hospitals. The security services in UK and USA have issued a joint warning statement in the wake of the military action that Russia was targeting western internet-based infrastructure.
For the first time, advice was even offered on how utilities and companies should protect themselves. Former chair of the Commons defense committee, Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom- who now advises on the Electric Infrastructure Security Council said that, “Securing the electricity network in particular was a priority as water supplies and sewage facilities, as well as communications services, are all dependent on electrical power.”
He further added saying, “If you take down the electricity network, you very quickly take down everything else as well. The vulnerability is real.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said that cyber security is “one of the government’s top national security priorities” and pointed out that there has never been a successful cyber-attack on the energy sector in the United Kingdom.
The Energy Network Association claims: “Network companies are aware of the increased threat level relating to cyber security and work closely with Government and across industry to prepare for any attack.”
Despite the assurance provided, the rate of cyber-attack will rise. UK’s largest telecoms company, BT which also controls the national broadband network said that attacks on their network has risen thousands of times more than the previous 5 years. The company further claims that they have been repelling hundreds of cyber-attacks every day.
Telecoms companies have been working with the UK National Cyber Security Center for years and there has been a “heightened awareness on Russia with the recent rise in tension”
Vulnerabilities affecting the infrastructure business operations are very common but to update the security systems like water plants, energy sources or port businesses will have to halt their services for some time.
A cyber security analyst, Graham Cluley says that, “Businesses may have legacy systems in place that have not been properly configured. Some of the industrial groups would be really worried about upgrading their hardware.”
Source: Financial Times
