The countries of the European Union with the support of the European Commission and the European Agency for Network and Information Security of the European Union (European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, ENISA) published the first report on the level of security and stability of the EU electricity and telecommunications sectors, informed on Wednesday digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu.
The report notes concerns about a range of threats, including threats to supply chain security, risks from a shortage of IT professionals, malicious activities by cybercriminals and state-sponsored attackers.
According to the threat analysis, there are both technical and non-technical related risks. Threats to supply chains are a major concern in both the telecommunications and power industries. In particular, those related to the deployment of 5G communications (networks) and infrastructure for obtaining energy from renewable sources.
Cyber ransomware attacks, data destruction and zero-day vulnerabilities are also identified as ongoing threats that require immediate countermeasures.
As for the electricity sector, the biggest threat here, according to the EU, is internal pests (in this regard, we note that Silicon Valley companies have already opened the hunt on Chinese spies among their employees – ed.). The risks are exacerbated by the complexity of “adequate due diligence on new employees” and the lack of highly qualified IT professionals.
In the field of communication, the main threats include attacks using roaming infrastructure and attacks involving large botnets.
The speakers also concluded that it will be difficult to minimize the risks of sabotage on cable lines and to counteract the creation of interference with signals from satellites.
In order to minimize threats, the document recommends that countries:
- strengthen interaction and share best practices;
- consider the geopolitical context when sharing data;
- exclude redundant links in the communication chain of organizations from the field of telecommunications and electric power with competent bodies;
- continue to work to ensure supply chain security.