Media Publication: Drone Flights over French Nuclear Plants

Chatham House publishes an article in Newsweek on the security vulnerabilities that the drone flights over French nuclear power plants have exposed.

 

Full article here:

http://www.newsweek.com/drones-threat-nuclear-plants-294458

Media Interview: Cyber Attack on South Korean Nuclear Plant

Dr Patricia Lewis, Research Director of the International Security Department at Chatham House, speaks to The Guardian about the recent cyber attack on a South Korean nuclear power plant:

Patricia Lewis, research director in international security at Chatham House, said concern was reasonable, even though people were thinking about security

“The key thing with all of this stuff is never think you’re invulnerable,” she said. “Always be aware of your vulnerability and put things in place so you can be prepared for an attack. Always be aware that something unusual that happens could be the result of a cyber-attack.” 

Full article here:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/22/uk-nuclear-power-generator-monitors-situation-hacking-south-korean-operator

Conference Presentation: NATO Advanced Research Workshop - Protection of Critical Energy Infrastructure

Chatham House gave a talk on the project findings thus far at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop: The Protection of Critical Energy Infrastructure Against Emerging Security Challenges in Tbilisi, Georgia on 25-28 November 2014. The meeting was organized by the Atlantic Treaty Association and the Atlantic Council of Georgia.

Slides from the presentation here:

Media Interview: Drone Flights over French Nuclear Plants

Chatham House Associate Fellow David Livingstone speaks to the Financial Times about the recent spate of drone flights over French nuclear power plants: 

“The concern is that someone is considering an attack, looking to penetrate the perimeter using genuine weaponry, or planning a protest,” said David Livingstone, associate fellow for international security at the think-tank Chatham House. “Unless you know where the data are going back to, or who is controlling the drone, you don’t know if it’s just people messing around, an environmental group, terrorists, or even a nation state.”

He said the mystery also raises questions – at a time when Western governments are increasingly using drones to catch criminals at home and attack enemies abroad – about the preparedness of states for the use of the technology against themselves. 

Full article here: 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/54da14b4-64ea-11e4-ab2d-00144feabdc0.html

Conference Presentation: NATO Advanced Research Workshop - Cyber Defense for Critical Infrastructure

Chatham House gave a talk on the project findings thus far at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop: Strengthening Cyber Defense for Critical Infrastructure in Kiev, Ukraine on 30-31 October 2014.  The meeting was organized by the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) in partnership with the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation.

We spoke on the panel entitled, "How is the Threat Environment Evolving" which looked at:

Most of the companies operating Critical Infrastructure (CI) have already experienced cyber-attacks and it is only a matter of time before a large scale attack happens. The majority of the attempts will come from non-state players. Although they do not possess the skills and extensive funding to create sophisticated weapons, they can challenge the stability of networks by performing a significant number of different types of attacks and intrusions. Even low end hackers without sophisticated skills can use a black market of cyber crime services and goods such as “zero day vulnerabilities” (previously undisclosed security holes in software), which can be used for infiltration of CI systems.

Additionally, non-state players create well organised and structured criminal gangs, possibly comprising thousands of individuals around the world, who are more effective due to the synergy effect.

States are able to develop sophisticated cyber-weapons but they will use them sparingly so as not to disclose their capabilities. The risk that advanced cyber-warfare capabilities will be developed or acquired by unsophisticated hackers or terrorists should be regarded as low, but cannot be disregarded.

Power grids are cheap to attack, and it should be expected that they will remain a primary warfare target. Attacks against energy infrastructure already make 60% of all the attacks against CI. It is also the sector that, should it be affected, will most likely trigger a cascade of negative effects to other sectors.

For more details: 

https://www.facebook.com/NATOarwSCfCI?fref=photo

Conference Presentation: Cyber Security in the Energy Sector

Roger Brunt CBE, member of the project Steering Committee and former director of the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, speaks on "Cyber and Nuclear Security" at an event on Cyber Security in the Energy Sector organized by the Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore.

Full conference programme here:

http://www.esi.nus.edu.sg/eventitem/2014/10/31/default-calendar/cyber-security-in-the-energy-sector

Second Roundtable on Cyber and Nuclear Security

At our Second Roundtable on Cyber and Nuclear Security today, Dr Masahiro Kikuchi, former Executive Director, Nuclear Material Control Center (NMCC) presented a Japanese perspective on the cyber security challenges in the nuclear sector.

A link to his presentation here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9rpxitOM8ytb2FTeEM2UnBWX28/view?usp=sharing