http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5512863/Cyber-attack-power-grid-cause-thousands-deaths.html
Britain would be 'only a few meals from anarchy' and cities uninhabitable within days if National Grid is taken down by a cyber attack, experts warn
By Nic White and Rachel Millard For Mailonline
Published: 13:11, 17 March 2018 | Updated: 14:07, 17 March 2018
Looting and rioting would erupt on the streets and 'thousands and thousands and thousands' would die if Britain was crippled by a cyber attack, experts warn.
Modern life is so reliant on electricity security services said if disaster knocked out the energy grid the country would be 'four meals away from anarchy'.
Such are the risks Britain faces from a belligerent Russia should it launch a cyber attack or shut off gas supplies, as identified by Cambridge University academics.
A catastrophic cyber attack is one of several 'black sky hazards' that could plunge the country into chaos, along with extreme weather, solar storms or terrorist attacks.
Britain would be 'only a few meals from anarchy' and cities uninhabitable within days if National Grid is taken down by a cyber attack, experts warn
- Russia could knock out the UK power grid if it wanted to, experts wanted
- Failure would cause rioting and looting and thousands of deaths across Britain
- Modern life is so reliant on electricity it would be a disaster if it failed
- Plunging temperatures on Sunday and Monday is likely to hike demand for gas
- Gas reserves could plummet this weekend and leave UK needing Russian gas
By Nic White and Rachel Millard For Mailonline
Published: 13:11, 17 March 2018 | Updated: 14:07, 17 March 2018
Looting and rioting would erupt on the streets and 'thousands and thousands and thousands' would die if Britain was crippled by a cyber attack, experts warn.
Modern life is so reliant on electricity security services said if disaster knocked out the energy grid the country would be 'four meals away from anarchy'.
Such are the risks Britain faces from a belligerent Russia should it launch a cyber attack or shut off gas supplies, as identified by Cambridge University academics.
A catastrophic cyber attack is one of several 'black sky hazards' that could plunge the country into chaos, along with extreme weather, solar storms or terrorist attacks.
- Mr Weitzdorfer warned looting would erupt as soon as people ate what was in their cupboards and authorities would lose control of the country.
Water supply and sewage rely on electricity, as do petrol pumps, and a communications blackout would mean the government couldn't inform the public.
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom, who advises the Electric Infrastructure Security Council, said 21st Century society was hopelessly reliant on electricity.
'Modern life would grind to a halt and the complexity of modern society is such that if you one or two little pieces of the jigsaw, the whole thing collapses,' he said.
The National Grid echoed this sentiment, saying a reliable supply of energy 'is our most important job'.
Other than a cyber attack by Russia or other parties, risks included extreme weather, an electromagnetic pulse weapon, terrorist attacks on substations, and solar storms.
- Russia may be the only option for European nations if they suddenly need more as other suppliers are already running at or near capacity.
Gas reserves across the continent are at record lows after cold spells and the closure of British storage facilities.
But the report said: ‘Gas demand is set to rise again from the end of the week across north-western Europe, bringing potential large-scale gas withdrawals back into play and prompting a likely increase in nominations for Russian gas imports.
Russia’s gas exports to Europe rose to a record 194billion cubic metres last year
‘Given the surge in demand, Russian gas supplies are considered the only swing source of gas under current conditions. Domestic production and other import sources are effectively maxed out.’
Campaigners fear the growing reliance on imports leaves the UK vulnerable at a time of heightened political tension with Russia in the wake of the row over the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury.
Official figures suggest only a small proportion of Britain’s gas comes from Russia directly. But many major pipelines across Europe start in Russia. This allows state-backed giants such as Gazprom effective control of European gas supplies.
Experts say the UK would struggle to balance its own supplies if there were not enough available on the continent. And they warn that the only nation capable of increasing supplies in times of high demand is Russia.
Gazprom claims it sold just over 16billion cubic metres of gas to the UK last year – around 20 per cent of the country’s total demand. Russia’s gas exports to Europe rose to a record 194billion cubic metres last year.
The UK imports around 44 per cent of its gas from Europe and Norway. In turn, Europe imports around 35 per cent of its gas from Russia.
Britain also bought a shipment of liquefied natural gas from Russia to cope with demand during the Beast from the East weather front at the end of February.
Tory MP Stephen Crabb said: ‘We know Russia deliberately uses its energy resources to create relationships of dependency across Europe and I don’t think we should be putting ourselves in that position. There are lots of options.’
The Prime Minister told the Commons yesterday Britain is looking to other countries to supply gas as it ramps up measures against Russia in response to the Skripal affair.
The UK has become far more reliant on imports in recent years due to the dwindling supply of gas from the North Sea and the closure last year of the Rough storage facility, which at its peak accounted for 70 per cent of the UK’s gas storage.
Mike Foster, of the industry body the Energy and Utilities Alliance, said: ‘If we have greater levels of imports there is always some vulnerability and the risk is greater from events.
‘This is one of those positions where there is an event and the situation could degenerate to the position where Russia does look to reduce the amount of gas it supplies to the West. It loses money if it does, but as a retaliatory measure, it’s conceivable.’
Tim Roache, of the GMB union, said: ‘There is a real danger here. We need a serious strategy and investment in UK energy to make sure we can stand on our own two feet.’
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: ‘Britain benefits from highly diverse and flexible sources of gas supply. We estimate less than 1 per cent of our gas comes from Russia and are in no way reliant on it.’
The fears over Britain's reliance on Russian gas come as Theresa May - with the backing of the UN - vowed a raft of punitive measures against Russia.
Speaking to MPs, Mrs May yesterday gave Russia's 'undeclared intelligence agents' a week to leave the UK in the biggest banishment of diplomats in a generation.
She also declared the UK will break off 'all high level contact' with the country, impose new sanctions and could seize the lucrative London assets of Putin's cronies.
- Russia may be the only option for European nations if they suddenly need more as other suppliers are already running at or near capacity.
