Will Ukraine Be Hit by Yet Another Holiday Power-Grid Hack?
The holiday season has not been a joyful time with respect to Ukraine’s power grid. Days before Christmas in 2015, remote hackers wrested control from Ukrainian grid operators, and, by digitally commandeering substations, shut off power for 225,000 customers for several hours. Then, in mid-December of last year, hackers developed a malicious code that, without any real-time human support, disrupted a Kiev transmission station and caused a substantial blackout that lasted roughly an hour in the capital—in the first fully automated grid attack ever seen.
With the holidays approaching again, the eyes of security experts and diplomats are on the energy companies in Ukraine and on the teams, believed to be based in Russia, that are responsible for the attacks. Researchers have linked these groups to the in the United States and Europe. Experts are watching this month with concerns over safety in Ukraine and
