Cyber Attack on US Power Grid Will Cost $1 Trillion

Lloyds_ICS-CERTreports_XL_580_313.png

 

A cyber attack, which shuts down parts of the United States' power grid, could cost as much as $1 trillion to the US economy according to a recent report.

Company executives are worried about security breaches, but a survey suggests they are not convinced about the value or effectiveness of cyber insurance.
    
The report from the University of Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies and the Lloyd's of London insurance market outlines a scenario of an electricity blackout that leaves 93 million people in New York City and Washington DC without power.
The scenario, developed by Cambridge, is technologically possible and is assessed to be within the once-in-200-year probability for which insurers should be prepared, the report said.

The hypothetical attack causes a rise in mortality rates as health and safety systems fail, a drop in trade as ports shut down and disruption to transport and infrastructure.
"The total impact to the US economy is estimated at $243 billion, rising to more than $1 trillion in the most extreme version of the scenario," the report said. The losses come from damage to infrastructure and business supply chains, and are estimated over a five-year time period.

The extreme scenario is built on the greatest loss of power, with 100 generators taken offline, and would lead to insurance industry losses of more than $70 billion, the report added.
There have been 15 suspected cyber attacks on the US electricity grid since 2000, the report said, citing US energy department data.

The US Industrial Control System Cyber Emergency Response Team said that 32 percent of its responses last year to cyber security threats to critical infrastructure occurred in the energy sector.
"The evidence of major attacks during 2014 suggests that attackers were often able to exploit vulnerabilities faster than defenders could remedy them," Tom Bolt, director of performance management at Lloyd's, said in the report.
Lloyd's syndicates offer cyber insurance but only 160 million pounds ($246.82 million) in cyber insurance premiums are written through London, which amounts to more than 10 percent of the global market.
Reuters: http://reut.rs/1TlieXA

 

« Black Hat Budgeting: What would you do with US$1 million?
Hack on United Airlines Makes CIA's Job More Difficult »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Perimeter 81 / How to Select the Right ZTNA Solution

Gartner insights into How to Select the Right ZTNA offering. Download this FREE report for a limited time only.

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

Nuvias Group

Nuvias Group

Nuvias Group is a specialist value-addedd IT distribution company offering a service-led and solution-rich proposition ready for the new world of technology supply.

Bufferzone Security

Bufferzone Security

Bufferzone is a patented containment solution that defends endpoints against advanced malware and zero-day attacks while maximizing user and IT productivity.

Pluribus One

Pluribus One

Pluribus One develops customized solutions and other data-driven applications to secure your business and your devices.

UPX Technologies

UPX Technologies

UPX Technologies is one of the largest digital security centers in Brazil providing full protection for data, networks and content.

Redstor

Redstor

Redstor's complete data management helps you discover, manage and control your data from a single control centre, unifying backup and recovery, disaster recovery, archiving and search and insight.

Oceania Cyber Security Centre (OCSC)

Oceania Cyber Security Centre (OCSC)

OCSC engages with government and industry to conduct research, develop training opportunities and build capacity for responding to current and emerging cyber security issues.

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

The Internet Crime Complaint Center provide the public with a reporting mechanism to submit information to the FBI concerning suspected Internet-facilitated criminal activity.

Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES)

Extreme Engineering Solutions (X-ES)

Extreme Engineering Solutions is a leader in the design, manufacture, testing, and support of hardware and software solutions for the embedded computing market.

Axiado

Axiado

Axiado Corporation is a security processor company redefining hardware root of trust with hardware-based security technologies, including per-system AI.

Votiro

Votiro

Votiro is an award-winning cybersecurity company that specializes in file sanitization, ensuring every organization is safe from zero-day and undisclosed attacks.

BIRD Cyber

BIRD Cyber

BIRD Cyber is a program to promote collaboration on cybersecurity and emerging technologies aimed at enhancing the cyber resilience of critical infrastructure.

Probity

Probity

Probity Inc. is a certified software development and systems engineering company, providing support to federal government and national defense related clients.

Arcserve

Arcserve

Defend your data with Arcserve all-in-one data protection and management solutions designed to be the right fit for your business, regardless of size or complexity.

PatchAdvisor

PatchAdvisor

PatchAdvisor core services include Vulnerability Assessments/Penetration Testing, Application Vulnerability Assessments, and Incident Response.

Cambridge International Systems

Cambridge International Systems

For more than 25 years, Cambridge has been fighting bad actors in both the cyber and physical worlds.

Amtivo Group

Amtivo Group

Amtivo provides Certification, Inspection and Training services to national and local Government bodies, multi-nationals, enterprise clients and SMEs.