The power Grid supplies not just power but is the source of livelihood for most residing in the nation. Economic stability, national security, and the health and safety of U.S. citizens depend on the security of the Power grid. Electric Sector’s critical infrastructure is the only infrastructure that is enforced by mandatory federal regulatory standards for both cyber and physical security.

 To understand how the U.S. Power grid is vulnerable, first, we need to understand what Electric Grid Security is.

How can you describe Electric grid security?

Electric grid security is all about the security of power plants and various other sources of energy generation against cyber crimes and physical assaults. It is also a great contributor to economic progress as it increases access to modern energy services and aids in enhancing the quality of life.

Considering the malware attacks inflicted by Russia in the past, it can be easily assumed that Russia will not be bothered by the ramifications caused by a devastating attack on the U.S. power grid.

It is not just Russia that has the means to attack the U.S. power grid but even China, Iran, and North Korea do too.

How is the U.S. Power Supply Vulnerable to Getting Affected by Russian Hackers?

What makes the U.S. power supply vulnerable to getting highly affected by Russian hacking is that it consists of power plants and electricity generators along with transmission and distribution lines and related critical infrastructure.

It is crucial to have powerful electric grid security so the countries can keep the reliability of the power grid secure. If the electric grid security is not resilient enough, it will become a target for the penetration of malware. Once the electric grid is hacked, millions of U.S. citizens may not have access to heat, light, refrigeration, water, phones, and even internet access.

The U.S. federal government is being urged by many cybersecurity researchers who work independently to release any information they can get, related to potential cyber campaigns. Nationwide attacks on the power grid are also included in such cyberattacks. Certainly, cybersecurity researchers do not want to see the 2016 Russian hacking in the presidential election getting repeated.

According to last year’s IBM report, the energy industry was the third most targeted sector for catastrophic cyberattacks. The first two are finance and manufacturing. In 2019, the energy industry was in 9th place on the target list for cyberattacks.

It has already been hinted by Russian president Vladimir Putin that the deliveries of weapons to Ukraine will be considered an act of war. We can expect far worse in the future if Russian cybercriminals decide to retaliate against western countries.

How are Russian Hackers a Tremendous Cybersecurity Threat to Ukraine’s Power Grid?

According to Ukrainian officials, a Russian Cyberattack on the Ukrainian power grid was successfully thwarted. This cyberattack had the power to knock down the power of two million people, but it wouldn’t have been the first time. It has happened twice before in 2015 and 2016 causing blackouts on a large scale.

Russian Cyberattacks have always put Ukraine’s cybersecurity in jeopardy. Just two days before Russia began its invasion, it was found that a cyberattack had hit Ukraine’s defense ministry, army, and two banks.

The cyberattack that took place right before the invasion, even though it was unsuccessful, was the most sophisticated cyberattack seen so far. This attack was supposed to begin on the evening of 8th April after the civilians of Ukraine had returned home from work. The target of this cyberattack was going to be several electrical substations in Ukraine.

Ukrainian critical infrastructure cybersecurity has been facing persistent problems since the beginning of the war. Through the usage of wiper malware, Russia has also been targeting government agencies that are responsible for food, safety, finance, cybersecurity, as well as law enforcement. Crippling cyberattacks like these hold immense power to bring down the economy of a country, leaving it vulnerable. And if a whole country’s economy can be influenced by a cyberattack, then imagine what it can do to companies and businesses. Therefore, cybersecurity companies now offer not just state of the art technology and advanced tools but years of expertise as well. One of such companies is Cyberware AI. It offers numerous services from vulnerability assessment to vulnerability management and more.

To know more about the highly beneficial services offered by Cybersecurity AI, you can email at: [email protected]