Iran-Linked Hackers Shut 15MW UK Power Plant for 4 Days, Exposing PLC Security Gaps
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Aug 24
Iran-Linked Hackers Shut 15MW UK Power Plant for 4 Days, Exposing PLC Security Gaps
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Aug 24
Summary
A small 15MW UK power plant was forced offline for four days in July after Iranian-linked hackers breached its control systems, in what British media described as the first reported shutdown of its kind in the country.
Programmable logic controllers were the target in both the plant attack and a separate July intrusion into UK water systems, where operators were locked out and pressure loss caused flooding.
CISA and security researchers say the intrusions relied on basic tactics such as scanning for internet-exposed devices and exploiting unchanged default passwords, not advanced zero-day exploits.
Thousands of PLCs remain reachable online, and many older units were never designed for modern cyber threats, leaving small operators with limited security staff to defend critical equipment.
The incident adds to rising concern over hostile-state cyber activity against UK infrastructure after the NCSC said in June it had handled more than 200 such attacks in a year, about 75% tied to states including Iran.