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Javier Pastor
Senior WriterComputer scientist turned tech journalist. I've written about almost everything related to technology, but I specialize in hardware, operating systems and cryptocurrencies. I like writing about tech so much that I do it both for Xataka and Incognitosis, my personal blog.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
The general power outage in Spain and Portugal has created great uncertainty about its possible causes. According to local media outlets, one cause under consideration is a possible cyberattack. Spanish agencies such as the National Cryptologic Center and the Spanish National Cybersecurity Institute are investigating. There has been only one major case of this type in the last decade.
EU rules out cyberattack. As local media outlets report, Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for Clean, Fair and Competitive Transition, said that “there’s nothing that allows us to affirm that there’s any kind of boycott or cyberattack.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stressed that the causes of the incident aren’t yet known and that no option is ruled out.
A few notable cases. On Dec. 23, 2016, the Ivano-Frankivsk region in southwestern Ukraine suffered a power outage due to a coordinated cyberattack that affected three major Ukrainian power companies. Tens of thousands of people were left without power for three to six hours. The following year, a more sophisticated cyberattack caused another blackout that affected residents of Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine.
The country has experienced more blackouts since the Russian invasion, following attacks by Sandworm, a cybercrime unit linked to Russian intelligence.
In November 2023, a series of coordinated cyberattacks affected Denmark’s energy sector. Although there were no blackouts, data thefts occurred. Experts pointed out that these types of problems are on the rise. However, none have affected an entire country, as would have been the case here.
The usual suspects. In June 2019, a significant power outage affected 48 million people in Argentina and Uruguay. At the time, a potential cyberattack was suspected to be the cause, but the Argentine government later stated the blackout was due to a failure in the transport system of one of its hydroelectric plants in Yacyretá.
It’s relatively common to associate such events with potential cybersecurity problems.
And then there’s Stuxnet. The U.S. and Israel allegedly created the Stuxnet malware in the second half of the 2000s. That malware damaged Iran’s critical infrastructure, specifically its nuclear power plants, and showed that certain cyberattacks can successfully target critical infrastructure.
Another possibility—but only that. At the moment, there’s no data indicating a cyberattack. The possibility exists, but there’s no confirmation. The blackout is exceptional and extraordinary, as stated by Red Eléctrica de España, the Spanish power system operator, which is also investigating the origin of the problem.
Image | Alice Kotlyarenko (Unsplash)
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