The President of the German Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, has warned of potential risks associated with cyberattacks on the power grid following the blackout in Spain and Portugal this week. Müller, speaking to the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”, stated, “We have been talking about the danger of hacker attacks on the telecommunications network for a long time. However, there are also such risks in the power grid, which we must take seriously.” He emphasized that the causes of the blackout on the Iberian Peninsula are still unclear.
Looking towards potential cyberattacks on the German power supply, Müller identified small photovoltaic installations as vulnerabilities: “We also need cyber resilience for the millions of small photovoltaic installations and their service providers” he said. The head of the network agency urged the swift implementation of the EU’s Cyber-Resilience Directive, which he believes would significantly increase protection against hacker attacks in the power system.