DNV is acquiring industrial cyber security specialist Applied Risk to build the world’s largest industrial cyber security practice, defending critical infrastructure in energy and other industrials.
Threats to industrial cyber security are becoming more common, complex and creative, said DNV.
The energy sector now appears among the top three most attacked industries according to insurance firm Hiscox.
The energy industry is under increasing pressure to bolster their cyber security following a series of high-profile attacks causing disruption to energy supply in recent years.
These include an attack on the Colonial Pipeline company in April 2021, which led to a temporary shutdown of the largest fuel pipeline in the US and caused temporary shortages of gasoline and other petroleum products.
An attack on a series of Ukraine’s power grid substations left a quarter of a million people without power in 2015 and set a precedent for the vulnerabilities facing the world’s grids.
The security of the renewables sector has also come under greater scrutiny after researchers from the University of Tulsa demonstrated how easy it can be to hack a wind farm.
In 2017, the team accessed an unsupervised wind turbine and exposed several vulnerabilities that could give them full remote control of the mechanics of an entire wind farm and the potential to destroy all turbines within it.
“Energy assets, equipment and components are now at higher risk of new forms of cyber-attacks, as their control systems become increasingly connected. Life, property and the environment are at stake.
“DNV is investing significantly in helping our customers build a powerful force of defence.
“By joining forces with Applied Risk, we aim to build an industrial cyber security powerhouse to support governments, regulators, operators and their supply chains in managing these emerging risks,” said Remi Eriksen, DNV group president and CEO.