CNI investigates whether the great blackout could be a consequence of an attack
Him National Intelligence Center (CNI) Has opened an urgent investigation after detecting indications that the general blackout that has affected large areas of Spain from this Monday He could have been caused by a direct computer attack against the critical infrastructures of national electricity.
The electric electricity company of Spain (Ree) has been compatible with an hour of attack of external nature, which caused the so “Energy Zero” with thus called, is the total collapse of the electrical system of a country or a large region, where the network ceases to provide energy completely. It may not be a simple cut of light in a city or in a neighborhood, but a huge and generalized interruption He simultaneously affects millions of people.
Before the hypothesis presented by the CNI, the nature of the accident suggests a high attack of refinementable to evade some of the standard protections implemented in electrical systems.
CNI works in collaboration with Cyberdefensza specialists Determine the exact origin of the attack and evaluate whether it could be connected to state actors or groups organized with political or economic reasons.
The precedent of the attacks on the critical infrastructure
The possibility of a huge computer attack against electric networks is not new. There are recent cases such as Ukrainian blackout in 2015, caused by malware aimed at its energy system, or intrusions detected in the United States, have shown that critical infrastructures are potential white hostile operations in cyberspace.
There are several examples in which a virus was the cause of these mass attacks, as in the case of Stuxnet that attacked critical infrastructures and industrial environments in Iran, such as nuclear power plants or energy plants. The Stuxnet virus was installed in the systems, stole their information and later ordered them as a car -mounted.
Spain, as part of the national security strategy, has since 2021 with specific cyberprotation protocols for critical infrastructures, but experts recognize that the threat evolves and constantly requires increasingly sophisticated answers.
Massimo notice and international coordination
The Ministry of the Interior has increased the safety notice in sensitive infrastructures such as electrical networks, water systems, airports and telecommunication networks. In addition, a cooperation protocol with European computer security agencies has been activated to share information and keep track of possible coordinated attacks in other surrounding countries.
“The hybrid threat – which combines computer attacks and physical sabotage – is one of the main risks for national security at this time,” said a source of the national security council.
In the meantime, Red Eléctric continues to work on the gradual restoration of the service throughout the country, although it warns that new accidents could occur if threats to the system persist.
Next steps
The government has convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council tonight and announced that the protection measures of industrial control systems will be strengthened while investigations advance.
An official declaration to inform citizens about the state of the network, further protection measures and the first preliminary conclusions on the origin of the accident are foreseen in the next few hours.
