In case there weren’t enough reasons for us to stop using fossil fuels to generate electricity, experts now claim that in addition to being environmentally unfriendly these energy sources also make us more vulnerable to catastrophic cyber attack in comparison to renewable alternatives. Their theory is simple, fossil fuels are only effective through a centralized grid system whereas renewable energy offers the opportunity for a decentralized energy system. A successful attack on a centralized power grid could affect millions, if not hundreds of millions of people but if hackers brought down a microgrid it may only affect hundreds or thousands. Not only does this reduce the impact of power system hacks but it probably reduces the number of attempted attacks too, as these small targets would be less attractive to those wishing to create chaos. “Advocates say the microgrid transformation of our electric infrastructure would make it more resilient to cyberattacks… and better able to […]