A small power plant in the United Kingdom was shut down for four days in July after a cyberattack allegedly carried out by hackers linked to Iran, The Telegraph reported on Sunday (August 23).
The incident is believed to be the first reported case of Iran-linked hackers successfully shutting down a British power facility. However, UK authorities stressed that the affected facility was a small-scale generator and that there was no threat to the wider energy system.
Small UK power plant targeted
According to the report, the cyberattack forced the unidentified facility to stop operating for four days.
The UK government and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have not disclosed the identity of the site or details about the attack, citing security concerns.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the incident involved a small-scale generator and that there was never any risk to the wider UK electricity system.
The NCSC is also understood not to have received reports of outages involving regulated operators of major power stations.
Attack comes amid US infrastructure warnings
The incident occurred around the same time that US authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, warned about malicious cyber activity targeting water facilities. The attacks reportedly affected water infrastructure across at least 12 US states and raised concerns within the White House.
The reported UK power plant incident has therefore added to wider concerns about Iran-linked cyber groups targeting critical infrastructure in Western countries amid the ongoing conflict.
UK-US military cooperation under scrutiny
The cyberattack comes after Britain allowed the United States to conduct limited defensive operations against Iran from British military bases.
In March, then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government granted the US military permission to use RAF Fairford and the joint UK-US facility on Diego Garcia for limited operations against Iranian missile facilities that directly threatened British personnel, regional allies or sovereign assets.
Britain has maintained that it would support defensive operations but would not participate in offensive military action against Iran.
Iran warns British bases could be targets
Iran has warned that military bases being used by the US could be considered legitimate targets.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said last month that any base used for aggression against Iranian territory would constitute a legitimate target for Iranian forces.
The British government subsequently said the UK was “ready to defend itself” following the Iranian warning.
The policy allowing US defensive operations from British bases has continued under new Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The UK government reportedly informed Burnham last week that the arrangement would be extended.
Growing Iranian cyber threat
Cybersecurity experts had warned of increased Iranian cyber activity shortly after the US and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28.
The reported attack on the UK facility could represent an escalation in Iran-linked cyber activity, although the incident was limited and did not threaten Britain’s broader power supply.
Iran-linked cyber groups have previously been accused of targeting businesses and infrastructure in the United States and other Western countries.
