Cipher Brief Expert View: Cyberattacks on Power Plants a Warning

Reports of intrusions into industrial control systems (ICS) broke late last week – this time in several U.S. power plants, including the Wolf Creek nuclear facility in Kansas.  The alleged perpetrator? Russia, leading many to compare these incidents to the successful and damaging Russian attacks against the electrical grid in Ukraine. 

So how concerned should we be? These intrusions are not necessarily new – but they are worrisome. Repeated cyber intrusions have targeted U.S. ICS – the technology that keeps utility operations running.  In 2014, DHS warned about the presence of Black Energy, a piece of malware, in U.S. systems – the same malware that caused disruption to electric power in the Ukraine. At that time, Black Energy was believed connected to the Sandworm Gang, an alleged Russian surrogate.