Iran-linked hackers blamed for cyber-attack that shut down UK power plant
Iran-linked hackers have been blamed for a cyber-attack that forced a small-scale UK power plant to shut down for four days last month. The government says there was no risk to the wider energy system.
Hackers linked to Iran have been blamed for a cyber-attack that forced a small-scale British power plant to shut down for four days last month, according to a report first published by the Sunday Telegraph.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero confirmed the incident affected only a small-scale energy generator, stressing that the wider energy system was never at risk. The UK's energy system remains highly resilient, the department said, and works closely with the sector to protect infrastructure.
The National Cyber Security Centre, which handles attacks on critical infrastructure, is understood not to have received reports of outages from regulated power station operators.
Rising tensions with Iran
The incident comes as the UK has permitted the US to launch so-called defensive operations against Iran from British bases, a policy seen as an apparent escalation. The arrangement has continued under new prime minister Andy Burnham, who was notified last week of a decision to extend the agreement with the US.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said last month that any base used for aggression against Iranian territory would be considered a legitimate target for its forces, while the UK government has said it is ready to defend itself.
Iran has for years been accused of carrying out cyber-attacks abroad, including in connection with a major power outage in Turkey in 2015 and suspected breaches of Israeli government websites in 2022. US security agencies also warned this year of attacks on critical infrastructure by hackers linked to the Revolutionary Guard, including a 2023 campaign by a group known as CyberAv3ngers that compromised at least 75 devices across multiple infrastructure sectors.
