The March 5 DDoS attack interrupted communications between generating facilities and the electrical grid in three western states.
For the first time, a malware attack is known to have caused service disruptions of the power grid in three states. The March 5 distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against a Salt Lake City-based renewable energy developer triggered communications outages over the course of 12 hours that affected electric utilities in Utah, Wyoming, and California.
The event, triggered by a DDOS attack against sPower — which claims to be the biggest private solar power operator in the United States — temporarily cut grid visibility to roughly 500 megawatts of generating capacity from a dozen solar and wind-power sites.
An unpatched vulnerability in sPower's Cisco firewalls was the target of the attack, which, although affecting communications within the grid, did not cause service interruptions to any customers.
For more, read here, here, and here.
This free, all-day online conference offers a look at the latest tools, strategies, and best practices for protecting your organization’s most sensitive data. Click for more information and, to register, here.
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like
The fuel in the new AI race: Data
April 23, 2024Securing Code in the Age of AI
April 24, 2024Beyond Spam Filters and Firewalls: Preventing Business Email Compromises in the Modern Enterprise
April 30, 2024Key Findings from the State of AppSec Report 2024
May 7, 2024Is AI Identifying Threats to Your Network?
May 14, 2024
Black Hat USA - August 3-8 - Learn More
August 3, 2024Cybersecurity's Hottest New Technologies: What You Need To Know
March 21, 2024