Iran-linked cyberhackers blamed for four-day shutdown of UK power plant
Telegraph reports attack marks first successful strike of its kind on vital British infrastructure; government says national grid not endangered
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Hackers linked to Iran were responsible for a cyberattack that shut down a small British power plant for four days last month, in the first successful Iranian-linked attack on vital UK infrastructure, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
According to the BBC, authorities declined to name the plant and insisted the shutdown did not put the country’s power grid at risk, but warned power companies about the danger of cyber attacks.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that the incident “impacted a small-scale energy generator, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.” He added that the department works “closely with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and ensure the highest security standards,” according to The Guardian.
The Telegraph, which did not name a source, said the attack took place last month, at the same time that water infrastructure in the US was also affected by a suspected Iranian cyberattack.
The incident could mark an escalation in Iranian-linked cyber activity against Britain after London allowed the US to conduct what it described as “defensive” operations against Iran from British bases. The UK has refused to help Washington in offensive operations.
The policy was not altered by the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, who was notified last week that a decision had been made to extend the agreement with the US.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned last month that “any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces.”
It has previously been accused of carrying out cyberattacks on various countries, including in relation to a massive power outage in Turkey in 2015.
The US has alleged that an Iran-affiliated group known as “CyberAv3ngers” targeted US infrastructure in 2023, which compromised at least 75 devices in multiple infrastructure sectors.
Israel has also faced suspected Iranian cyberattacks, including a major assault in March 2022 that knocked government websites offline for more than an hour. Israeli officials did not identify the perpetrator at the time, though some media outlets pointed to Iran.
US security agencies warned earlier this year about potential cyberattacks on critical infrastructure by hackers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Times of Israel Community.