Denmark’s water works (vandværker) are subject to a “very high” risk of cyber attacks, the national Centre for Cybersecurity (Center for Cybersikkerhed, CCS) said on Wednesday after completing its first official assessment of the cyber threat against national water infrastructure.
“The water sector is a fundamental part of what forms the critical infrastructure in Denmark. It is obvious to say that things could quickly get serious if drinking water supplies get disrupted,” acting head of CCS Mark Fiedel said in a press statement.
The cybercrime centre also revealed a specific example of how cyber attacks are already a direct threat against the water sector.
Fiedel said that Russian hackers gained access to a minor Danish water plant in December 2024, leaving local residents without water for several hours.
Around 50 households were affected by the attack.
CCS operates with various types of cyber attack including the category of cyber crime. It is this category in which the risk is considered to be “very high”.
This means critical infrastructure could be targeted by ransomware attacks, whereby data and systems are made inaccessible to the owner or operator. The attacker can demand payment in return for allowing them back into the system.
A local water works in Zealand town Kalundborg told broadcaster DR in 2021 that its technicians had been temporarily locked out of IT systems before being informed they had been hit by such an attack.
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