Iran-linked hackers shut down UK power plant for four days
The incident is the first known cyberattack to bring a British power plant to a standstill.
AI hackers. By GettyImages
- A small UK power generator was shut down for four days in a suspected Iran-linked cyberattack.
- The outage did not affect Britain’s wider power supply, but officials treated it as a serious infrastructure warning.
- Officials believe the operation aimed to show hackers could access sensitive UK systems, not cause major public disruption.
- The UK warned energy firms and is working on tougher cybersecurity rules for the sector.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
A small power-generating facility in the UK was shut down for four days in what is believed to be the first successful cyberattack on a UK power facility of its kind.
The Telegraph reported on Sunday that the incident happened at the same time as a series of attacks on US water infrastructure across at least 12 US states last month.
In some cases, those breaches caused utilities to lose remote monitoring or even led to loss of water pressure and boil-water advisories. US officials have said Iranian hackers are likely responsible.
According to the publication, the government did not name the affected facility for security reasons, but it’s understood to be small. The outage also reportedly did not impact the UK’s wider power supply or energy generation, but it became the first known cyberattack to bring a British power plant to a standstill.
The incident was reported to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which declined to comment.
“This story refers to an incident impacting a small-scale energy generator, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system,” a UK government spokesperson said in a statement.
“The U.K. has a highly resilient energy system. We work closely with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and ensure the highest security standards.”
The attack was unlikely to be meant to cause severe disruption for civilians, and the public did not widely notice it. The Telegraph reported that officials believe the operation was aimed at proving that hackers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could access critical UK infrastructure.
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The government warned energy companies about the threat and advised them on next steps. It also said it’s working on stricter cybersecurity rules for the sector.
Experts had warned that Iran could retaliate with cyberattacks targeting Western businesses and critical systems after the US launched attacks on Iran on February 28th.
On August 18th, the US charged 17 Iranians with conducting a cyber threat campaign and attacking more than 300 universities worldwide, dozens of private companies, US government agencies, and NGOs. According to the DOJ, many of these intrusions were carried out on behalf of the IRGC.
