A recent study by a cybersecurity company confirms that the Dutch solar energy grid is vulnerable to multiple types of attacks against its system.
A new study from a cybersecurity company confirms that one of the largest solar energy networks in Europe is vulnerable to multiple types of attacks against your system.
Over a six-month period, researchers from cybersecurity company Secura investigated hacker forums on the dark web and conducted interviews with energy industry experts to find out where they came from. the most common threats for the solar energy Dutch.
“There is a significant area of attack in the solar energy sector in the Netherlands and… this will especially expand in the future,” the report states.
Although GermanyIt is the European country that produces the most solar energyThe Netherlands is a leader in solar energy per capita, that is, the amount of energy produced per person, according toSolarPower Europe, the solar industry association. There are more than 3 million solar installations nationwide, which in turn supply between 17 and 20 gigawatts of energy to the national grid each year, according to the report.
The report follows recent research by investigative journalism platform Follow the Money showing that Hacker may have taken control of millions of Dutch smart solar panel systems using a backdoor into your online system.
What attacks should we anticipate?
There are a few reasons why malicious actors they might want to attack the dutch solar systemlike the fact that it represents a large part of the country’s energy.
For example, the report notes that the interference of a state actor is “relatively high” because “it allows an easy path of disturbance”, which another country could use in the negotiation. “A strategic dependency arises for the Netherlands (in this scenario) because it can affect vital infrastructure,” the report says.
The biggest impact it would have a cyber attack would occur on the core and high voltage grid – the part of the grid that can contain and supply the most energy.
However, this is unlikely as, according to the report, this network is used by many European states, and would probably not be the source of a targeted attack against the Netherlands.
Hackers Too They could create too much solar energy by manipulating the tipping point of a panel’s invertersso they transform too much direct current energy from the Sun into alternating current energy, the kind needed for the grid.
If that happens, could create a local blackout by overloading the network which, according to the report, is easy to repair if done on a small individual solar panel.
What would happen in the event of a cyber attack?
The report says it is difficult to know what will happen after an attack, but that money is likely to be lostwhether small residential units or a large solar farm are attacked. The amount of losses It will depend on whether the equipment suffers physical damage.
Los Power outages could be likelyespecially if combined with attacks on generators wind energybattery storage systems or charging stations.
If prolonged outages occur, the report notes that they could cause social unrest by not being able to satisfy the individual needs of the population. For example, widespread power outages could make it difficult for Dutch residents to buy groceries or use their phones to stay in touch with each other.
Cyberattacks and resulting power outages could also ‘damage confidence’ in solar energythe report continues, which “would reduce the willingness to invest in it and… delay the energy transition.”
ADVERTISING‘Euronews Next’ contacted Secura, but did not receive an immediate response.
The solar sector is a sector of the future
Although the threat of a cyberattack on solar energy is low for now, industry group SolarPower Europe says that It is important to put more measures in place to prevent any future attacks.
Dries Acke, deputy CEO of SolarPower Europe, said in a July press release that there are some “clear steps” to take, such as improving cyberattack risk assessments and give customers more information on how to keep their solar panels safe of malicious threats.
The sector also requests that solar panels be labeled as critical products, so that they undergo further cybersecurity assessments.
ADVERTISINGAcke adds that a EU-wide threat monitoring group to closely study threats to rooftop solar installations or any “centrally coordinated” devices.
“We are a sector of the future, on track to supply most of Europe’s electricity. We take that responsibility very seriously,” added Acke.
According to a July report from the bloc’s cybersecurity agency, The EU is not prepared for a large-scale attack on its energy infrastructureincluding solar.
The report asked the Commission to analyze supply chain vulnerabilities in the solar sector and look for ways to implement cyber protection in the technologies used to control how and when the panels generate energy.
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