Israel Power Plants Have Fended Off Cyber Attacks, Minister Says

(Bloomberg) -- Israel’s energy infrastructure has had to defend itself against several serious cyber attacks, the most recent only a few months ago, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Wednesday.

In a speech in Tel Aviv, Steinitz said that cyber strikes, in particular from Iran, “can create havoc on all fronts, but the most sensitive by far is the energy sector.” He added that “only a few months ago, we detected and neutralized an attempt to paralyze and take over one of our power stations,” but did not specify from where the attack was initiated. Israel Electric Corp. denied it had been targeted.

More than 8,500 reports of suspected cyber incidents were made to the National Cyber Directorate in 2019, of which two-thirds were attempts to penetrate critical infrastructure, said the organization’s director general, Yigal Unna. None succeeded, he said.

Israel isn’t alone in acknowledging its energy sector is vulnerable. In October, France’s cyber-security agency said the country’s critical infrastructure was increasingly at risk of attacks. Saudi Arabia has said a virus compromised Saudi Aramco’s computer network in August 2012, and the U.S. in June bolstered cyber-security rules for its electric grid.

Israel’s first line of defense is a cyber headquarters in the southern city of Beersheba, according to Steinitz.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gwen Ackerman in Jerusalem at gackerman@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Riad Hamade at rhamade@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Amy Teibel

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