Security News
Researchers at cybersecurity firm FireEye have analyzed a gateway device used for solar energy installations, and discovered vulnerabilities that could be useful to malicious hackers. FireEye conducted its research on a version of the device offered by Tesla under the SolarCity brand - Tesla acquired solar panel maker SolarCity in 2016.
IBM announced bp has joined the IBM Quantum Network to advance the use of quantum computing in the energy industry. By joining the IBM Quantum Network as an Industry Partner, bp will have access to IBM's quantum expertise and software and cloud-based access to the most advanced quantum computers available via the cloud.
Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras and Companhia Paranaense de Energia, two major electric utilities companies in Brazil have announced that they suffered ransomware attacks over the past week. Copel being the largest in the state of Paraná while Eletrobras is the largest power utility company in Latin America and also owns Eletronuclear, a subsidiary involved in the construction and operations of nuclear power plants.
UK energy supplier People's Energy this week started informing customers of a data breach that affected some of their personal information. In a data breach notification published on its website, the energy supplier reveals that, on December 16, it was the victim of a cyberattack in which an unauthorized party accessed one of the systems used to store member data.
More high-profile organizations are named as victims of the cyber-espionage campaign that involved an attack on Texas-based IT management and monitoring company SolarWinds. Politico reported on Thursday that the U.S. Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration were also targeted in the attack.
Renewable electricity and gas supplier People's Energy has told its 250,000-plus customers that a "Gap" in the security of its IT system was exploited by digital burglars. The British company's co-founders Karin Sode and David Pike wrote to customers on Thursday morning to confirm that "Yesterday People's Energy was affected by a cyber security data breach."
TeamViewer released TeamViewer 15.12 for macOS, which already supports the new custom architecture known as Apple Silicon. The latest TeamViewer client supports the Apple Silicon structure as well as the new macOS Big Sur, which will be the first operating system on Apple Silicon.
Siemens Energy announced a new AI-based industrial cybersecurity service, Managed Detection and Response, powered by Eos.ii, to help small and medium-sized energy companies defend critical infrastructure against cyberattacks. "As the digital revolution transforms the energy industry, industrial operating environments are becoming increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks," said Leo Simonovich, Head of Industrial Cybersecurity at Siemens Energy.
Researchers are warning that a new class of botnets could be marshaled and used to manipulate energy markets via zombie armies of power-hungry connected devices such as air conditioners, heaters, dryers and digital thermostats. Researchers with the Georgia Institute of Technology laid out the scenario in a Black Hat 2020 virtual session Wednesday.
A team of researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology has demonstrated how, in theory, a malicious actor could manipulate the energy market using a botnet powered by high-wattage IoT devices. The Georgia Tech researchers say a threat actor could manipulate the electricity market the same way financial markets can be manipulated: generate an event that causes prices to drop or rise, and buy when the price is low and sell when the price is high.