Germany’s innogy has joined the European Network for Cyber Security (ENCS) in a bid to expand its cyber know-how.
The ENCS says its mission is to safeguard cyber security across the European energy sector and presently works with various utilities throughout the continent. Existing members include the likes of Italy’s Enel, Vattenfall and Energias de Portugal.
Andreas Breuer, head of new technology at innogy’s grid and infrastructure division, said that the company was looking to benefit from the “exchange of knowledge” within the trade body and to learn more about possible counter-strategies.
“Energy infrastructure is critical and faces a rising number of cyber-attacks, while the complexity of the threats is also increasing,” he added.
The ECNS said that the need for cyber security had risen alongside greater digitisation and decentralisation within power grids.
Cyber security has emerged as a trending topic within the power and infrastructure sectors, particularly amidst heightened tensions between Russia and Western states. In November last year the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) confirmed that the country’s energy infrastructure had been a target of Russian hackers.
This was followed by the announcement of potential new guidance from the NCSC warning that energy companies and utilities that are found to have insufficient cyber defences could be fined as much as £17 million in the event of major breaches.
