When systems go dark and become unavailable, consumers and operators may feel frustration, panic, and anger. When there is disruption to energy and utilities that affects homes, businesses, and entire geographical regions, that darkness will spur emotional and logistical problems that bring processes to a halt. The CrowdStrike outage caused chaos at airports and other facilities—now, imagine the cascading consequences if every airport, phone network, hospital, and emergency dispatch center went dark.
Energy and utilities are propelling modern civilization into the future and are a unique part of the micro and macro supply chain that includes billions of people, Fortune 500 global enterprises, and everything in between. When the power grid fails, hospitals lose life-saving equipment, supply chains collapse, and transportation screeches to a standstill.
The risks extend to all critical infrastructure. Military bases, intelligence agencies, and national defense systems all require uninterrupted power to maintain operational readiness. Cyberattacks on the energy sector could lead to further geopolitical implications, too, affecting national security and global stability.
As cybercriminals become more sophisticated and aging infrastructure remains a glaring security risk, energy providers must rethink their approach. Findings from Trustwave’s recent 2025 Trustwave Risk Radar: Energy & Utilities Sector report underscore the importance of moving beyond compliance checklists to a resilience-based security model, which is essential to mitigating these growing threats.
The Outdated Infrastructure Time Bomb
The average electrical infrastructure in the U.S. is 40 years old, with a quarter of the grid exceeding 50 years. While these systems were designed for stability and reliability, they were not built to withstand modern cyber threats. Unfortunately, this is a two-pronged problem—the aging workforce and its familiarity with primarily outdated systems also opens the grid up to vulnerabilities, particularly within the IT sector responsible for modernizing and maintaining grid operations.
Specifically, many energy providers still rely on outdated industrial control systems and supervisory control and data acquisition networks. In many cases, these operational technology (OT) systems are directly connected to corporate IT networks, significantly expanding the attack surface. Cybercriminals can exploit weaknesses in IT environments to gain entry, then pivot into operational networks to manipulate power distribution systems or disrupt service.
Addressing these risks requires a strategic approach to modernization. Strengthening network segmentation and following a zero-trust security model can be some of the most immediate and effective steps. By separating IT and OT systems as much as possible, organizations can limit an attacker’s ability to move laterally if one area is compromised. Zero trust further ensures that even trusted users and devices must prove their legitimacy before interacting with critical infrastructure.
As a longer-term strategy, energy providers should prioritize upgrades to legacy systems, replacing outdated technology in phases to minimize operational disruption while enhancing security. This phased approach should be strategic while not letting security go to the wayside.
For ongoing coverage, continuous monitoring can help provide real-time visibility across IT and OT environments to help detect anomalies early and prevent intrusions before they escalate. While the cost of these improvements may seem daunting, waiting for a catastrophic cyber incident to force change is a far riskier and more expensive alternative.
A High-Stakes Ransomware Game
Unlike other industries, energy operators cannot simply shut down systems to contain a cyber breach. The need to maintain continuous operations makes rapid recovery a top priority—something attackers have weaponized. While established ransomware groups like Conti and LockBit continue to dominate, newer actors such as Hunters International, Akira, and Qilin are aggressively entering the space. Hunters International alone accounted for nearly 19% of ransomware attacks on the energy sector in the past year.
Ransomware is one of the most significant threats facing the industry today, with Trustwave’s report finding an 80% increase in activity year over year. Threat actors exploit the pressure on utility and energy providers to maintain operations, demanding higher ransom payments in exchange for unlocking critical systems. Recent research has found that cyberattacks against the energy and utilities sector are escalating in both frequency and impact. Ransomware incidents have not only become more common but also more costly, with the financial toll of a breach averaging nearly $500,000 more than in other industries.
As attackers refine their tactics, energy providers must adopt a more aggressive defense posture. One of the most effective ways to thwart ransomware threats is by minimizing the reach of an attack. This includes ensuring critical systems have offline backups that cannot be encrypted or accessed by attackers, allowing for faster recovery without succumbing to ransom demands. Implementing automated incident response protocols can also help contain threats before they spread, reducing downtime and limiting financial damage.
Securing the Human Element in Grid Security
Despite widespread cybersecurity awareness initiatives, phishing remains the most common attack vector in the energy sector, accounting for 84% of breaches. Cybercriminals exploit human error through highly sophisticated social engineering tactics, tricking employees into opening malicious attachments, clicking fraudulent links, or unknowingly providing access credentials. Whereas before, an untrained eye could spot a phishing email by its typos, tone, or formatting errors from a mile away, sophisticated AI and deepfake technology have made these phishing attempts hyper-personalized and more realistic than ever.
Given the growing sophistication of phishing and social engineering operators, regular penetration testing and tabletop exercises should be used to simulate attacks and refine response strategies. Additionally, establishing dedicated threat-hunting teams can help identify signs of intrusion before malware is deployed, shifting the response from reactive to proactive.
AI-driven email security solutions that flag suspicious messages before they reach employees can also significantly reduce risk. At a minimum, organizations should mandate multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all personnel with access to OT systems, ensuring that stolen credentials alone are not enough for an attacker to gain entry. While these measures won’t eliminate phishing risks entirely, they can reduce the impact if and when an attack occurs.
A Blueprint for Resilience
Relying on compliance checklists is no longer enough. Energy providers must take meaningful steps to fortify their security posture against evolving threats. Enforcing strict access controls and network segmentation, continuously verifying the identity of users and devices can limit the impact of a breach.
Collaboration will also be key in the years ahead. Energy providers, government agencies, and cybersecurity researchers must work together to share threat intelligence, conduct joint incident response exercises, and establish industry-wide security standards.
The future of energy security depends on the industry’s ability to adapt to an increasingly hostile threat landscape. By prioritizing resilience and embracing modern security frameworks, energy providers can build a more secure foundation for the digital age.
About the Author
Kory Daniels is the Chief Information Security Officer at Trustwave, overseeing the cybersecurity strategy and defense for the company and its clients. With over 15 years of experience, he has led cyber defense initiatives and modernization efforts, including Trustwave’s global cyber advisory and integration services.
Previously, Kory led cyber transformation at IBM, focusing on portfolio innovation, AI and machine learning in cyber defense, and building enterprise cyber defense centers. Before IBM, he held leadership and sales roles at various security startups.
Kory’s diverse experience in sales, consulting, and operations has shaped his approach to cyber resilience at Trustwave. He is passionate about building trust within the CISO community and often presents at industry events. Kory holds a CISSP certification and a BA from Drew University.
Kory can be reached at https://www.linkedin.com/in/korydaniels/
Source link
