The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published Monday a Private Industry Notification (PIN) emphasizing how malicious cyber actors may seek to disrupt power-generating operations, steal intellectual property, or ransom information critical for normal functionality to advance geopolitical motives or financial gain within the U.S. renewable energy industry. With federal and local legislature advocating for renewable energies, the industry will expand to keep pace, providing more opportunities and targets for malicious cyber actors. The agency further cautions that threats are likely to specifically target the operational technology (OT) software and hardware systems.
“Structural shifts in the reduced cost of implementation of renewable energy and incentives for development of clean energy have created new targets and opportunities for cyber threat actors to disrupt and exploit for their own gain,” the FBI outlined in its document.
The agency noted that the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act signaled a new push by the federal government to encourage renewable energy options for different US municipalities and expand these technologies to more U.S. citizens. “As renewable energy, which generates about 21% of all US electricity as of late 2023, becomes more nationally prevalent, US consumers are increasingly exploring ways to reduce their own fossil fuel consumption through new government tax incentives. This has included US federal agencies, such as the DoD, which is the largest consumer of energy in the US government, much of which it sources from local electric grids,” it added.
In late 2023, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government announced a non-binding target to install 250,000 solar rooftops by 2030. Virginia set ambitious energy goals in 2019, aiming for 5,500 MW of wind and solar energy by 2028—with 3,000 MW in development by 2022. By 2030, the plan is for renewable energy to supply 30 percent of the state’s electricity, and by 2050, Virginia aims to have 100 percent of its electricity sourced from carbon-free energy—wind, solar, and nuclear.
