UK briefs energy chiefs after Iran-linked cyber attack reports

Britain on Monday ​briefed energy company chiefs on ​steps to protect their ‌assets after ​media reports said Iran-linked hackers had shut down a small energy facility, saying there ‌was no threat to the wider electricity system. The Telegraph and Financial Times reported that a cyber attack, which the newspapers said took place ‌in July and attributed to Iran-linked hackers, had forced a ‌small British generator offline for four days.

While not commenting on who was behind the incident or when and where it happened, Michael Shanks, the minister ⁠for energy, said ​the government ⁠and industry had taken the incident seriously and were working with regulators and ⁠the National Cyber Security Centre to assess threats and strengthen protections. "To be clear: ​there was no threat to the wider grid and nobody ⁠lost power," Shanks wrote in a post on X. "The generator in question is ⁠tiny ​especially compared to what most of us would class as a 'power plant/station'."

A spokesperson for Britain's energy department said there was ⁠no risk to the wider system, adding that the country had ⁠a "highly ⁠resilient" energy network. The Iranian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.