Andrew Bills, CEO of CS Energy, said the company moved quickly to segregate its corporate network from the power stations. CS Energy has notified State and Federal agencies and is also working with other cybersecurity experts.
Details of the Cyberattack
CS Energy CEO Andrew Bills said that the incident affect the company’s corporate network. However, CS Energy worked quickly to isolate its network from two thermal power stations, Callide and Kogan Creek. By doing so, the company prevented 3500 megawatts of power from being removed from the grid. CS Energy is now focused on restoring its network’s security, as well as supporting its employees, customers, and business partners. “CS Energy moved quickly to contain this incident by segregating the corporate network from other internal networks and enacting business continuity processes,” Bills stated. “We immediately notified relevant state and federal agencies, and are working closely with them and other cyber security experts.” Bills also commented on the increasing number of cyber incidents in critical sectors. Malicious actors, including state-backed groups, have come to target critical infrastructure organizations with ransomware. “Unfortunately, cyber events are a growing trend in Australia and overseas. This incident may have affected our corporate network, but we are fortunate to have a resilient and highly skilled workforce who remain focused on ensuring CS Energy continues to deliver electricity to Queenslanders.”
Home Affairs Minister: Cybersecurity is No.1 Priority
In response to a cyber incident earlier this year, Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews stated that cybersecurity was her number one priority. Andrew said, “We are doing all that we can to protect Australians and Australian businesses, but understand that this is a two-way street. Businesses need to make sure that they have in place the appropriate measures to keep themselves and their data – which is critically important – cyber secure.” She also spoke about the steps other nations, such as China, have made to expand their cyber capability. “We are very much aware that many nations – including China – have significantly increased their cyber capability. Australia is also increasing its legitimate and lawful cyber activity as well,” Andrews added.
