Iran-linked hackers are behind the unprecedented cyber attack that shut down a UK power plant for four days, it has been revealed.
Cyber terrorists forced the facility to be completely closed down while staff battled to bring systems back online.
Officials have not revealed which power plant was targeted, but it is understood to be relatively small – and the attack did not have any significant impact on the nation’s energy supplies.
The Government briefed chief executives of power companies about the incident and provided advice and direction.
Officials from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a public-facing branch of GCHQ, were also informed and are investigating the breach.
The attack was the first and most effective of its kind, but the Government insists ‘at no point’ was there a wider risk to Britain’s energy system, The Telegraph reported.
However, the incident is a chilling indication of the potential harm wrought by successful cyber attacks on Britain’s infrastructure, experts warned.
It is said to have occurred at the same time US infrastructure was hit by a string of cyber attacks across more than a dozen states last month.
In late July, US intelligence officials believe Iranian regime hackers hit a water utility in western Arkansas as part of the wider campaign, according to the Washington Post.
