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 »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

NordLayer

NordLayer

NordLayer is an adaptive network access security solution for modern businesses — from the world’s most trusted cybersecurity brand, Nord Security. 

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 7,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

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.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

EfficientIP

EfficientIP

EfficientIP helps organizations drive business efficiency through agile, secure and reliable network infrastructures.

BMC Software

BMC Software

BMC provide solutions for IT service management, Cloud management, IT workload automation, IT operations, and mainframe system management.

Gurucul

Gurucul

Gurucul predictive security analytics protects against insider threats, account compromise and data exfiltration on-premises and in the cloud.

Dcoya

Dcoya

Dcoya's complete security awareness training program gives you out-of-the-box compliance with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOX and ISO regulations.

Ikarus Security Software

Ikarus Security Software

Ikarus focuses on antivirus and content-security solutions.

Bounga Informatics

Bounga Informatics

Bounga Informatics provides Digital Forensics, E-Discovery, and Endpoint Security software, hardware, and training in Singapore and other countries in Asia Pacific.

Cortado Mobile Solutions

Cortado Mobile Solutions

Cortado Mobile Solutions creates enterprise mobility and file sharing solutions for companies, teams and freelancers.

Symantec

Symantec

Symantec delivers data-centric hybrid security for the largest, most complex organizations in the world – on devices, in private data centers, and in the cloud.

Brighterion

Brighterion

Brighterion solutions stop payment and acquirer fraud, reduce credit risk and delinquency, fight financial crime, prevent healthcare fraud, waste and abuse, and more.

White Cloud Security

White Cloud Security

White Cloud is a cloud-based Application Trust-Listing security service that prevents unauthorized programs from running on your computers.

Truesec

Truesec

TRUESEC has an exceptional mix of IT specialists. We are true experts in cyber security, advanced IT infrastructure and secure development.

TWC IT Solutions

TWC IT Solutions

Since 2011, TWC IT Solutions has offered managed IT Support, Cybersecurity, Disaster Recovery, Contact Centre and Business Connectivity services to clients across 24 countries globally.

Advantage

Advantage

Advantage exists to provide peace of mind in an evolving technology reliant world. We were created by visionaries who for nearly 4-decades have been passionate about providing world-class solutions.

Advent One

Advent One

Advent One are recognised for solving intricate dilemmas, not only making technology work but building foundations that customers can grow upon in an effective and secure way.

GoTo

GoTo

At GoTo we help people and businesses to connect and collaborate simply and securely – from anywhere. We’re the trusted partner for companies of all sizes.

Skillfield

Skillfield

Skillfield is a Melbourne based Cyber Security and Data Services consultancy and professional services company.