Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, European wind-energy firms have apparently been targeted by hackers or have been harmed by cyberattacks on their suppliers.
Nordex SE and Deutsche Windtechnik AG, according to the Wall Street Journal, have both reported cyber intrusions in recent months. When Viasat was hacked at the outset of the invasion, a third German business, Enercon GmbH, informed the Journal it was "collateral damage."
The hacks are of varying degrees of severity. Because of the Viasat attack, Nordex SE had to shut down its IT systems; Deutsche Windtechnik AG was unable to remotely manage roughly 2,000 turbines for at least a day; and Enercon GmbH lost remote access to about 5,800 turbines.
The renowned Conti ransomware gang is said to have claimed responsibility for the Nordex SE intrusion in March, and security experts are looking into the likelihood that it was also involved in the April hack of Deutsche Windtechnik AG, according to the Journal.
Conti was blamed for at least 450 ransomware assaults since the beginning of 2020, according to Nordlocker in October 2021. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the organization said that it meant to back Russia, which resulted in the publishing of internal communications and source code almost immediately.
Germany presently imports oil from Russia, but it is working to switch to renewable energy sources such as wind farms, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying on April 8 that the nation might stop importing fossil fuels from Russia by the end of the year.
Conti selected these German firms especially because they might help the country wean itself from Russian oil sooner rather than later, which comes as no surprise. Or it might just be on the lookout for wealthy prey.