Spain probes cyber weaknesses of small generators amid investigation into nationwide blackout

SENIOR officials in the Spanish government have expressed ‘concerns’ about the cyber defence capabilities of small electricity generators as investigators continue to search for the causes of last month’s nationwide blackout.

According to the Financial Times, representatives from Spain’s National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe) have demanded information from small to medium-sized power facilities – including solar and wind farms – about their cybersecurity amid fears that any weak link may have been exploited by malicious actors to provoke April’s unprecedented power cut across the Iberian peninsular. 

Companies that operate renewable power plants report that they have received an array of questions from Incibe, including ‘Is it possible to control the power plant remotely?’, ‘Were any anomalies detected prior to the April 28 incident?’, and ‘Have you installed any recent security patches or updates?’

The questions revive the debate about whether Spain’s dependence on renewable forms of energy instead of fossil fuels or nuclear power may have been to blame for the blackout, a suggestion that Pedro Sanchez, the prime minister, has sought to strenuously deny.

Speaking in parliament last week, Sanchez attempted to silence his critics, including the leader of the conservative Partido Popular (PP), Alberto Nuñez Feijoo, who have suggested that his government’s green energy policy may have been to blame.

“There is no empirical evidence to tell us that the incident was caused by a surplus of renewables or a lack of nuclear power plants in Spain,” he said.

However, his own energy department remains open to the idea. “As of today, we are not ruling out any possibilities. Everything remains on the table,” Spain’s energy and environment ministry said when asked about the root cause of the power outage. 

Some experts believe that Spain’s transition to renewable energy has left the country prone to attack.

The country’s electricity generation has shifted from a few large, regulated plants towards thousands of smaller generators, offering more opportunities for hackers and other malevolent actors seeking to disrupt the power grid.

The blackout occurred when Spain lost 15 gigawatts of electricity supply – equating to 60% of the national supply – in just five seconds, causing multiple other power stations to disconnect from the grid.

The collapse was one of Europe’s biggest ever power outages, leaving the entirety of mainland Spain and Portugal without electricity for hours.