Steinitz: Cyber Attack Against Electric Grid

Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz (Likud) on Tuesday announced that a successful cyber attack against Israel's electric grid had been identified and eventually blocked. Steinitz spoke at a cybertech conference in Tel Aviv. The attack was handled by Israel's Electricity Authority, which is in charge of energy regulations, rather than the IEC.

"The cyber attack was identified yesterday (Monday) by the Electricity Authority," Steinitz added. "Portions of the grid were shut down as part of managing the attack. The problem was handled by the energy ministry and the cyber command. At the moment the situation is under control. To defend against the cyber attack we had to shut down a large part of the Electricity Authority computer system, to minimize the damage."

Steinitz also said that "this is an example that illustrates the need for cyber defense for the electric, energy and water systems in the State of Israel. The person in charge of the effort was the Head of Security at the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources, Tamir Schneiderman.

A spokesperson for the Electricity Authority said the problem is being resolved, and the system will return to normal functioning within a few hours.