Report by Radar & Truesec

Swedish Energy Sector Report

Real Cyber Attack on an Energy Company

In the report, you can learn about a real case where a European company became the target of cybercriminals. Due to a poorly patched Microsoft Exchange server, the cyber attack could go on for several weeks, which resulted in complete control over the office network and ended up with threats and extortion.

About the report

The information is based on enriched data from analysts having done an individual assessment of each case and concluded that the IT attacks, had they not been stopped, could have led to serious consequences for the affected company. Check out this month's example to learn how these types of incidents can develop if they're not detected and disarmed quickly.

Perceived Threat Situation - Energy Sector

Swedish businesses generally experience an increased threat picture in almost all categories, apart from threats from industrial espionage and their own personnel, who all back down somewhat regarding high and medium risk. It is difficult to pinpoint a single factor that allows one to explain the fluctuating trend and reasons for variations in threat assessments, but the media reporting of incidents, vulnerabilities and geopolitical uncertainties obviously have significant factors on what is perceived as a threat. Our respondents' answers are in line with the report on cyber security in Sweden.

For the entire energy sector, which is this month's industry in focus, roughly the same perceived threat picture applies, although threats from other national actors are deemed to pose a higher risk than for many other Swedish industries. We can connect the concern for well-financed threat actors with clear goals to the perceived risk, or even the societal risk, that has arisen in connection with today's global situation.

Priorities and Challenges Within the Energy Sector

Within the energy sector, the priorities on where to invest time and money have been similar to the national average over the years. During the pandemic, security was less prioritized by Swedish organizations in general, including companies within the energy sector.

This report presents how the energy industry ranks priorities and challenges and how the focus on investments has shifted during the past years.