Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

UK cyber security law forcing energy companies to report hacks has led to no reports, despite numerous hacks

UK cyber security law forcing energy companies to report hacks has led to no reports, despite numerous hacks

The threshold to determine whether an incident affecting energy companies is reportable has prevented any reports being made.

A cyber security law introduced three years ago was meant to boost the resilience of the UK's energy sector by obliging gas and electricity firms to report when they were hacked.

But since then not a single report has been made, Sky News can reveal, despite numerous successful hacks of British energy firms attributed to hostile states as well as criminal groups.

Ofgem, the authority that is meant to receive these reports, told Sky News that only one company has ever tried to file a report informing the regulator that it had been hacked, but they were dismissed as the incident did not meet the threshold for being reported.

Ofcom's incident thresholds are based on the impact of an attack on customers


Last year, staff at a little-known company called Elexon - a firm that plays a critical role in balancing and settling payments between power plants and electricity suppliers - was left locked out of its internal systems due to a ransomware attack.

The British government has confirmed that Russian state-sponsored hackers have successfully penetrated the computer networks of the UK's energy grids, without disrupting them.

Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson warned that "thousands and thousands and thousands" of people could be killed if an attempt at disruption was made.

But the high thresholds for companies working across the gas and electricity sectors to report cyber security incidents to Ofgem risks leaving the regulator blind to how the sector is actually coping in the face of these threats.

These thresholds are based on the impact of hacks to the continuity of the companies' services, a metric that does not record the sector's security capabilities, just the intentions of the attackers.

Dr Jamie Collier, a threat intelligence consultant at FireEye, told Sky News that the thresholds could be useful considering the varying levels of sophistication across attacks on critical infrastructure organisations, allowing defenders to "focus on what really matters".

But the cyber security expert added: "Despite this, essential service providers and regulators should be careful not to neglect the threat posed from less sophisticated attacks."

FireEye has detected an increase in critical infrastructure incidents caused by novice hackers due to the growing availability of tools enabling these hackers to interact with industrial control systems.

The company also warns that multiple, highly-prolific criminal organisations with a financial motivation are currently "active inside essential service provider networks with the intent of profiting from a ransom of stolen information and disrupted services".

FireEye warns that novice hackers are now targeting industrial control systems.


"Most of the concern around cyber security has been focused on operational technology (OT) networks that interact with physical processes and machinery, such as power plant equipment or water treatment facilities," Dr Collier explained.

"Yet the traditional information technology (IT) networks that involve the flow of data - such as file storage or email - should not be neglected. This is because whilst the impact of malicious activity can be far more severe against OT systems, these attacks typically start out on IT networks. It is therefore vital to consider security across an entire service provider's infrastructure."

Dr Collier stressed that critical infrastructure providers "deserve credit for their use of fail-safe mechanisms that can mitigate the destructive impacts of many attacks".

Responding to Sky News, a government spokesperson said: "The UK's critical infrastructure is extremely well protected and over the past five years we have invested £1.9bn in the National Cyber Security Strategy to ensure our systems remain secure and reliable."

They added that a formal review of the impact of the cyber security law, the Network & Information Systems Regulations, will take place within the next 12 months.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×