A recent Trustwave SpiderLabs report underscores the growing cybersecurity challenges in the U.S. energy and utilities sector, driven by an 80% increase in ransomware activity year-over-year. This dramatic rise highlights the vulnerabilities within critical infrastructure, where the convergence of aging physical systems and modern digital technologies has created new attack surfaces for increasingly sophisticated adversaries.
Key findings reveal that 47% of ransomware attacks in the energy sector occurred in the United States, with a significant portion attributed to the Hunters International group, responsible for 19% of such incidents in the second half of 2024. Phishing remains the dominant attack vector, accounting for 84% of initial breaches, often through user execution of malicious files. Once inside, attackers use brute-force techniques for credential access in 67% of cases and rely on remote services for lateral movement within organizations 96% of the time, highlighting widespread vulnerabilities in network architecture.
Legacy Systems Widen the Attack Surface
A significant challenge facing the energy sector is its reliance on aging infrastructure and legacy systems. In the U.S., much of the electrical grid is over 40 years old, with 25% of it exceeding 50 years. Many operational technology (OT) systems, which control power generation, distribution, and water treatment, were never designed to defend against modern cyber threats. These systems often lack updates, patches, or compatibility with newer cybersecurity solutions, making them a prime target for attackers. The challenge is compounded by the need to maintain continuous operations, limiting opportunities for downtime to apply fixes.
These vulnerabilities have real-world consequences. The report warns that breaches targeting critical infrastructure can cascade into broader societal impacts, disrupting communication systems, halting manufacturing processes, and impairing transportation networks. In severe cases, healthcare services can be jeopardized, as hospitals rely on uninterrupted power for medical equipment and patient care. Moreover, the energy sector’s integration with other industries, such as finance and telecommunications, means that an attack on one area can trigger ripple effects across the economy, amplifying risks to public safety and national security.
Adversaries Exploit Technical Weaknesses
The report also sheds light on the evolving techniques of attackers. Hunters International and other sophisticated threat groups employ brute-force attacks against web-facing applications and exploit vulnerabilities in public-facing systems, such as Apache Log4J, to gain initial access. Attackers then escalate their operations by dumping OS credentials or hijacking remote services like RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). In one incident, unsecured application credentials stored in registry files allowed attackers to gain deeper access, demonstrating the risks of poor credential hygiene in critical systems.
Once inside, attackers frequently target OT environments, leveraging command and scripting interpreters such as PowerShell to execute malicious payloads. These advanced techniques emphasize the need for energy and utility providers to invest in specialized OT security, balancing the unique requirements of industrial systems with modern cybersecurity demands.
The Costs Extend Beyond Financial Loss
While the average financial cost of a breach in the energy sector is $5.29 million—higher than the cross-industry average of $4.8 million—the societal impacts can be even more profound. Power outages, supply chain disruptions, and the cascading effects on essential services such as healthcare and telecommunications illustrate the critical nature of securing this sector. Trustwave emphasizes that the energy industry must address these systemic weaknesses by prioritizing investments in secure technologies, training personnel to recognize phishing attempts, and modernizing legacy infrastructure.
As the report concludes, the energy and utilities sector’s role as the backbone of societal infrastructure makes it a top target for both nation-state actors and financially motivated cybercriminals. Proactive measures to address these vulnerabilities are no longer optional—they are essential for protecting national security and public safety.
The report can be downloaded at Trustwave’s website It is gated so you will have to give them your email and contact info, but it’s a pretty decent report so it may be worth taking a call or getting an email from them.