UK energy chiefs briefed after Iran-linked cyber attack forces British power generator offline

Britain on Monday briefed energy company chiefs on steps to protect their assets after media reports said Iran-linked hackers had shut down a small energy facility, saying there was no threat to the wider electricity system.

The Telegraph and Financial Times reported that a cyberattack, which the newspapers said took place in July and was attributed to Iran-linked hackers, forced a small British generator offline for four days.

While not commenting on who was behind the incident or when and where it happened, Michael Shanks, the minister for energy, said the government and industry had taken the incident seriously and were working with regulators and the National Cyber Security Center to assess threats and strengthen protections.

No risk to the wider system, 'highly resilient' energy network

"To be clear: there was no threat to the wider grid, and nobody lost power," Shanks wrote in a post on X/Twitter. "The generator in question is tiny, especially compared to what most of us would class as a 'power plant/station'."

A spokesperson for Britain's energy department said there was no risk to the wider system, adding that the country had a "highly resilient" energy network.

The Iranian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.