Hackers linked to Iran have been blamed for a cyber-attack that temporarily shut down a small-scale British power generator for four days. The UK government said there was no risk to the wider energy system.
The incident followed the UK’s decision to allow the US to launch so-called defensive operations against Iran from British bases, an arrangement that has since been extended.
What the UK government confirmed
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero described the affected facility as a small-scale energy generator and said the UK has a highly resilient energy system. The department said it works with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and maintain security standards.
The National Cyber Security Centre, which handles attacks on critical infrastructure, is understood not to have received reports of outages from regulated power-station operators. The government did not identify the generator or disclose how the attack caused the shutdown.
Related coverage: Iran’s threat to Bulgaria raises questions about a wider European front.
How the incident fits the UK-Iran dispute
The shutdown occurred last month, according to the source report that first disclosed it. The incident was presented as an apparent escalation in the threat posed by Iran after the UK permitted US defensive operations from bases hosting American aircraft.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned last month that any base used for aggression against Iranian territory would be a legitimate target. The UK government said last month that the country was ready to defend itself, while continuing to refuse support for offensive operations.
Why critical infrastructure is a concern
NCSC chief executive Richard Horne warned this year that hostile states including Russia, China and Iran were increasingly targeting systems behind the UK’s key services. US government security agencies also warned earlier this year about attacks on critical infrastructure by hackers linked to the IRGC.
More context: USS Benfold was towed after a four-day power failure.
The United States has alleged that an Iran-affiliated group known as CyberAv3ngers compromised at least 75 devices across multiple infrastructure sectors in a 2023 campaign. Iran has also been accused of cyber-attacks connected to a 2015 power outage in Turkey and possible breaches of Israeli government websites in 2022.
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