Cyberattack Hits UK Power Grid Company Elexon -

Elexon, part of the United Kingdom's electric grid ecosystem, has suffered a cyberattack that impacted portions of the company's internal IT network. Still, two of Elexon's most important mission critical systems were not impacted by the attack, the company says.

According to a May 14 statement from Elexon:

"We are advising you that today that ELEXON’s internal IT systems have been impacted by a cyber attack. BSC Central Systems and EMR are currently unaffected and working as normal. The attack is to our internal IT systems and ELEXON’s laptops only. We are currently working hard to resolve this. However please be aware that at the moment we are unable to send or receive any emails."

In a follow-up statement, Elexon said it identified the root cause and was taking steps to restore our internal IT systems.

Elexon did not disclose whether the company hired an MSSP (managed security services provider) or cyber forensics consulting firm to study and mitigate the attack.

Elexon: Mission Critical Systems Online

Fortunately, Elexon's BSC Central Systems (and their data) and EMR platform -- two mission-critical systems -- remain unaffected and are continuing to work as normal. The BCS Central System is an e-commerce platform and big data system that coordinates finances between power generators and power suppliers in Great Britain. EMR is a settlement system for the power industry.

Ransomware Suspected: The cyberattack may have involved ransomware, according to threat intelligence company Bad Packets. But how exactly did hackers attack Elexon? The exploit may have involved Elexon running an outdated version of Pulse Secure's VPN (virtual private network), Bad Packets told ZDnet.