Cybernews reports that Nova Scotia Power, which is the primary electric utility in the Canadian province, had some of its IT systems taken down following a cyberattack that resulted in the disruption of customer account access.
However, operations of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities have not been impacted by the incident, according to the utility, which reassured continued service to Nova Scotia customers. Moreover, Nova Scotia Power's parent firm Emera emphasized that the intrusion has not affected the Brunswick Pipeline, the Maritime Link, and its utilities in the U.S. or Caribbean, while noting an ongoing investigation into potential data compromise stemming from the incident. Such an attack was regarded by Lastwall Vice President of InfoSec Julien Richard as potentially having led to a significant safety issue in the absence of necessary controls. "Utilities and energy providers must harden their identity and access control systems, ensuring that only verified and authorized personnel can reach critical environments," Richard said.
However, operations of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution facilities have not been impacted by the incident, according to the utility, which reassured continued service to Nova Scotia customers. Moreover, Nova Scotia Power's parent firm Emera emphasized that the intrusion has not affected the Brunswick Pipeline, the Maritime Link, and its utilities in the U.S. or Caribbean, while noting an ongoing investigation into potential data compromise stemming from the incident. Such an attack was regarded by Lastwall Vice President of InfoSec Julien Richard as potentially having led to a significant safety issue in the absence of necessary controls. "Utilities and energy providers must harden their identity and access control systems, ensuring that only verified and authorized personnel can reach critical environments," Richard said.
