The focus of this report is to assess of cyber threats for the energy sector considering the geopolitical environment’s unpredictability, the industry’s growing strategic character, and the likelihood that the energy crisis will persist. 

QuoIntelligence assesses that the risk level for the European energy sector will highly likely (70-85%) remain high due to the volatility of the geopolitical landscape, the increasingly strategic nature of the sector, and the likely continuity of the energy crisis.

As for the cyber threat landscape, opportunistic attacks will likely (60-70%) remain the most important threat to the energy industry, posing a high risk to the sector. Nevertheless, geopolitical tensions will highly likely (70-85%) reflect in the cyber sphere resulting in an elevated risk level to energy companies.

As such, cyber espionage and hacktivist attacks are likely (60-70%) to increase due to their political component. QuoIntelligence assesses the risk of cyber threats for the energy sector as:

• High risk: eCrime actors deploying ransomware
• Medium risk: Cyber espionage and disruptive activity by state-affiliated groups
• Low risk: Hacktivist engaging in low-capability disruptive attacks.

As for the geopolitical landscape, the increasingly strategic nature of the energy sector will highly likely (70-85%) result in increased pressure on energy companies to acquire a competitive advantage in the framework of the energy transition, while facing new risks due to an increasingly volatile and tense geopolitical environment.