Cybersecurity: Energy Sector Vulnerabilities and how to overcome them

Cyber security challenges in the global energy sector are increasing each day. According to a report, the energy sector was the prime target in 16% of the officially recorded cyberattacks to date. Moreover, the expansive nature of this industry in terms of power generation, transmission, and distribution networks, gives more room for a cyber breach that can incur huge losses.

Thus the energy sector calls for more stringent approaches to managing cyber risk. However, it comes as a surprise that despite its importance, investment in cybersecurity attracts attention from only 28% of companies.

This article by Growth Jockey explores the critical cybersecurity challenges faced by the energy industry and the measures to overcome them.

Why is the Energy Sector Vulnerable to Cyberattacks?

Cybersecurity challenges like data theft, fraud in invoicing, and malware, are prevalent in the energy sector just like any other industry. However, certain factors put the energy sector at more risk and push them to opt for stricter security services.

Increasing Threat and Threat Actors

In the current times, cyber attacks targeting the energy sector are coming from an expanded range of parties. Nation-state sectors understand the importance of power and gas companies as major infrastructural contributors. Hence, they target these companies to disrupt critical operations and fulfil their extensive geo-political agendas.

Additionally, unlawful groups are aware of the revenue generated by the energy sector and launch cyberattacks against it to gain a monetary advantage. For example, cybercriminals willingly disrupt power transmissions that impact people's lives to receive heavy ransoms from power companies in exchange for restoring the normal supply flow. The figure below depicts some examples of threat actors.

Most companies operating in the energy sector are familiar with these threats posed by a cybersecurity breach. However, they still need to improve their capacity to invest in Information technology and operational technology cybersecurity measures. Many government regulatory bodies need to hire specialized staff that can analyze cybersecurity program costs which are calculated in the consumer’s utility bills.

Moreover, certain local government bodies offer utility services with little attention to cyber security measures that can minimize risk.

Expansive Infrastructural Presence

Due to the nature of their services, the energy industry requires a geographical network scattered over multiple sites and locations. Hence, maintaining consistent transparency across IT and OT systems comes as a challenge. There is much difficulty faced in connecting network activities with physical security devices like badge system logs and surveillance systems in server rooms.

It is more challenging to provide complete security in developing nations and in vast production areas like solar farms that provide lesser energy output and revenue in comparison to the maintenance cost.

Additionally, consumer-facing devices such as smart meters and electric-vehicle charging stations also pose a risk to utility providers as hackers can easily tamper with these devices affecting the revenue and breaching the overall security setup of the company.

Gaps in Power Sector Supply Chain

The complex organizational setup of the power sector is another factor that makes this industry vulnerable to cyber attacks targeting. Companies in the energy sector largely depend on third parties to procure information, hardware, software, services, and more. This is why several vendors, contractors, and employees gain access to the company’s site and system. This creates loopholes in the supply chain and increases the difficulty of providing robust security to the entire system.

Moreover, the usage of unpatched laptops and file transfers through USB devices by vendors hamper the security system of power companies. Threat actors can take advantage of this scenario and introduce compromised elements into the system at any point of its life cycle through software updates or firmware. Hackers may also tamper with the hardware that energy service providers install in their OT systems.

Furthermore, the response time to tackle these kinds of security breaches increases due to the unavailability of vendors and the scattered accountability of such occurrences among diverse departments within the organizational setup of the company.

Another aspect that advances the enterprise level risk of cyber attacks is incorporating devices developed by start-ups into the value chain. The reason behind this is the limited resources available to smaller companies. Although most of these start-ups offer secure devices, power companies may not have the resources to deal with cyber breach incidents. Moreover, these devices enlarge the attack surface by collecting extensive customer data.

How Can the Energy Sector Build Resilience Against Cyber Threats?

Knowing why cyber security is important to the energy sector, it is necessary to deploy strict security measures. Implementing the following methods can pave the path to creating a robust security system in the power industry.

Identifying the Loopholes in the Supply Chain

As discussed earlier, the complex organizational structure of the companies providing energy solutions makes them more vulnerable to cyber threats. Although companies try to adhere to the best cyber-safety practices, they sometimes fail to monitor all points in the supply chain with a wide range of vendors and suppliers.

Cybercriminals capitalize on the loopholes created due to such a situation. As such, following stringent cyber-safety practices right from the onset of the procurement process can help enhance cybersecurity within the company. With Growth Jockey, you can devise effective operating models to ensure the proper implementation of these practices at each level.

Hiring and Training Specialized Workforce

According to research, just 31% of energy service providers know how to tackle cyber threats. The response and actions of a company’s workforce play a huge role in dealing with cyber attacks. Hence, all companies in the energy sector must train and prepare their employees to identify potential threats and take prompt measures for managing cyber risk. Cyber security expertise is of utmost importance in dealing with incidents of cyber breaches that can have large-scale implications.

An Industry-Wide Collaborative Approach to Fight the Threat

Technological development has led every industry to majorly depend on information technology for running their operation, and the energy sector is no different. As such, a single breach by ransomware can cause the entire system to crumble.

Moreover, the crucial interdependence of physical and virtual infrastructure in the power sector results in a more complex system which requires an integrated approach to defy critical cybersecurity challenges.

Hence, all the key players in the company and its associated industries must collaborate consistently to secure the links between physical and virtual infrastructure and eliminate threats in both systems.

Addressing Communication Gaps

Observing the communication gaps within the organization and taking steps to fill them will create a secure network where employees can discuss the vulnerabilities and incidents and identify potential cyber threats. It would help detect and analyze the attacks so that the specialized workforce across the energy sector can devise effective solutions. Growth Jockey helps you strategize the right way and establish processes that facilitate smoother communications and operations within an organization.

Collaborating With Industry Peers and Government Agencies

Individual efforts of the power companies are not enough to mitigate enterprise level risk. Companies are collaborating with each other and government agencies to respond to and recover from cyber threats.

A structure like this helps design industry standards and certification programs and exchange threat intelligence among participating organizations and government agencies. Moreover, it allows all organizations to incorporate innovative processes and share talents and tools.

Establish New Technologies to Handle Cyber Risk

Companies are taking initiatives to redesign and improve the devices and components used within the system. For instance, suppliers are resorting to automated manufacturing processes to eliminate the risks accompanying human interference. They are also enforcing new tracking programs to survey the origin of a component by recording its built-in identity and linking it to sourcing information.

Extensive ongoing research on technologies that can help prevent cyber incidents is also crucial to establish security for the system. Such technologies can reduce the surface of cyber attacks by ensuring a secure exchange of information to prevent critical data compromise in the energy sector. Growth Jockey helps you connect with these technological solutions and implement new initiatives to elevate your business.

Researchers are also working on tools that have the potential to prevent any cyber activities in the energy delivery systems by modifying the control system configuration dynamically and creating a moving target to help prevent hackers from planning an attack.

Wrapping Up

Cybersecurity challenges are difficult to address, and the energy sector is especially more vulnerable to cyber risk, but companies can start fighting cyber threats by following the measures discussed above. The key is to monitor all the touchpoints across the vast organizational framework of the company. In the energy sector, where diverse departments come together to complete the generation, transmission and distribution process, cybersecurity should also be a combined target.

All the teams within the structure should have visibility of the IT and OT network to identify and mitigate any potential attack.

Growth Jockey assists companies in developing an effective operational strategy in their organization to adopt an integrated approach. After effectively managing cyber risk within the company, organizations should collaborate with each other and the government to share intelligence and tools and develop new industry standards and processes.

At Growth Jockey, we are fully committed to providing tailored solutions that effectively tackle the crucial challenges in cloud and cyber security faced by our clients across diverse industries. Regardless of the size of your company, whether it's a small-scale enterprise or a large corporation, you can now leverage the advantages of advanced technologies in cloud and cyber security.

Take the decisive step towards unlocking the next level of growth and protecting your brand by contacting us today!