Romanian energy supplier Electrica calls in cyberattack

Electrica Group, a key player in the electricity distribution and supply market in Romania, is experiencing an ongoing cyberattack.

In a notice addressed to the Romanian Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF), the Bucharest Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange, the company says it’s working closely with the national cybersecurity authorities to manage and resolve the incident.

“We want to emphasize that the Group’s critical systems have not been affected, and any disruptions in interaction with our consumers are the result of protective measures for internal infrastructure. These measures are temporary and are designed to ensure the security of the entire system,” the announcement states.

All safety protocols have been activated in accordance with internal procedures and regulation. Electrica Group’s priority is to keep the supply and distribution of electricity up and running, as well as to protect both corporate and personal data of all entities within the corporation.

Electrica Group CEO Alexandru Aurelian Chirita recommends keeping an eye out for any suspicious messages that are sent in the company’s name, as they could be a phishing attempt or part of a social engineering attack. Employees shouldn’t send personal information through unsecured channels.

Secretary of Energy Sebastian Burduja told Romanian news outlets that a ransomware attack hit Electrica Group, that no network equipment has been affected, and that the SCADA system is fully functional. ‘SCADA’ is short for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition and is used by businesses and organizations in critical infrastructure.

“Basically, there is no risk, Romanians must know that they are safe. All systems have been verified, from a cyber perspective, we cannot say that this attack had other consequences. Now those who did this must be found and sanctioned,” the Secretary says.

No ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the attack at the time.

The attack on Electrica Group follows after Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) nullified the recent elections.

The pro-Russian and far-right Calin Georgescu won the first round of Romania’s presidential elections, to many people’s surprise. According to the Romanian intelligence agency, a Russian disinformation campaign affected the first round of elections via TikTok, meaning that the first round of the presidential election needs to be redone.