Ransomware WannaCry Attack: Entire India’s Power Grid is at Risk States Central Electricity Authority Report

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The power grid systems of the country are currently under a big threat of deadly virus WannaCry ransomware. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of India have issued warnings that urgent measures need to be adopted immediately to protect electricity networks across the country.

The CEA is a statutory organization which advises the government on its electronic systems. They have issued a report which implies that if hackers inject lethal viruses like ransomware in the system, then the power grid of the entire country could be affected. A similar case had happened in Ukraine on 23^rd December 2015, when hackers were able to penetrate into their power grids and the electricity distribution of the country was affected. Almost 2.5 lakh citizens had been affected for hours. Similarly, the ransomware WannaCry virus had affected 150 countries in May 2017 and the intensity was huge.

The Ministry of Power had asked the CEA to appoint a committee to look into the cybersecurity issues in the power sector. A smart grid is used to supply electricity to people using two-way digital communication. This is more prone to virus attacks. In a virus attack, a computer worm can go through advanced metering systems and permanently disable millions of meters which receive electricity through these digital meters.“Cyber and physical security threats pose a significant and growing challenge to electric utilities. Unlike traditional threats to electric grid reliability, such as extreme weather, cyber threats are less predictable and therefore more difficult to anticipate and address. This calls for an urgent need to develop a cybersecurity framework and regulatory response to address the specific security needs of the power sector in India,” the CEA’s report stated. So if the situation is not effectively brought under control then the entire electricity distribution network can face a complete shutdown.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 25, 2018 01:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).

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