Fortum, the biggest power utility in Finland, is being subjected to daily attempts of cyber attacks and cyber breaches, while suspicious individuals and drone activity have been spotted near its energy assets, CEO Markus Rauramo told Reuters.
“There are different kinds of cyberattack attempts, or cyber security breach attempts, against us daily, and then less frequently, drones and different kinds of suspicious movement around our assets,” Rauramo said.
Satellite connections have been disturbed in recent months, too.
The company has asked Finnish authorities to investigate the cyber and satellite disturbance incidents, the chief executive said.
There have been similar incidents at Fortum’s energy assets in Sweden, too, Rauramo told Reuters.
So far, there hasn’t been a major impact on the company’s operations, according to Jari Stenius, head of security at Fortum.
“There has been an uptick in the frequency (of incidents) just as authorities are also reporting. The numbers are increasing, but the impact on our operations is very small,” Stenius told Reuters.
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation told Reuters that Finnish police have opened several separate investigations into incidents near critical infrastructure.
Fortum generates electricity in the Nordic countries from hydropower, wind power, solar power, nuclear power, and combined heat and power (CHP) plants.
Last year, a total of 98% of the company’s electricity generation was carbon dioxide-free, Fortum says.
Last month, Fortum announced that it has successfully started using nuclear fuel from U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric as it seeks to replace Russian supply.
For years, Fortum’s Loviisa power plant in Finland has sourced its nuclear fuel from TVEL, a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom.
However, Fortum began hunting for a new fuel source two years ago after Russia invaded Ukraine. The new fuel includes uranium, the fuel assemblies, and also the enrichment process originating from Western sources.
Fortum’s two nuclear reactors in Loviisa account for around 10% of total power production in Finland.
Source: Oilprice.com