The FBI has issued an official alert to the public about the potential for malicious cyber actors to disrupt power generation, steal intellectual property, or hold critical information for ransom within the U.S. renewable energy sector.
The warning comes as federal and local governments increasingly advocate for renewable energies, expanding the industry and creating more opportunities for cyber threats.
According to the FBI, a 2019 incident underscored these risks when a private company lost visibility into approximately 500 megawatts of its wind and photovoltaic sites across California, Utah, and Wyoming due to a denial-of-service attack exploiting an unpatched firewall.