A new survey of 350 UK and US utility operators reveals that 62 percent of water, water treatment and electricity companies have been affected by cyberattacks in the last 12 months.
The study from Semperis finds that nearly 60 percent of attacks were carried out by nation-state groups
The study also says that 57 percent of attacks disrupted operations, with 54 percent of victims suffering permanent corruption or destruction of data or systems. 67 percent of attacks compromised identity systems such as Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta.
"Many public utilities likely don't realise that China has infiltrated their infrastructure. For instance, Chinese-sponsored threat actors like Volt Typhoon are known to prefer Living off the Land attacks, which are difficult to detect and can remain dormant, planting backdoors, gathering information or waiting to strike for months or even years," says Chris Inglis, Semperis strategic advisor and former US National Cybersecurity Director.
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Critical infrastructure security incidents up over 600 percent since 2022
Regulation and its role in protecting critical infrastructure [Q&A]
What sets utility operators apart from many other industries is the critical nature of their work. If an electricity or water operator is compromised, the potential risks to public health and safety can put an entire nation at risk. Resilience to cyberattacks that threaten operations should be the top priority for every organization involved in critical infrastructure.
"If you don't improve resilience, attackers keep coming. Utilities have an opportunity to address this challenge. They need to assume breaches will happen, and through tabletop exercises, they can practice attack scenarios that could be a reality in the future," says Mickey Bresman, CEO, Semperis.
You can get the full report from the Semperis site.
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