I read with interest on BBC news today comments made by director of GCHQ (Government Communication Head Quarters) Iain Lobban saying that the UK’s critical infrastructure – such as power grids and emergency services – face a “very real and credible threat from cyber attack”.

Speaking to delegates at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, he stressed that the country’s future economic prosperity rests on ensuring a defence against such assaults. Apparently, around 1,000 malicious emails a month are deliberately targeted at government computer networks.

He also said that the threat offers an opportunity if the UK can get its defences right and maintain integrity of financial and commercial services, which will lead to competitive advantage.

What struck me were the words “real and credible threat”. Coming from a man at the centre of the intelligence industry, I’m inclined to take him seriously.

If power grids are attacked, the problem could be far wider reaching and affect far more businesses and organisations than a cyber attack on a specific computer system.

For years we’ve been working in partnership with our customers to protect against power interruptions caused by unforeseen or unfortunate circumstances, like natural disaster, human error, freak weather – all the kinds of events that when they occur can be devastating but that are not deliberate and therefore can be imagined and planned for. Here we are dealing with – and having to protect against – something equally devastating, the threat of which is growing like an alien force but the like of which it seems impossible to imagine.

On a positive note, however, there is much that can be done by businesses to ensure power continuity – independent of the national infrastructure – even if the National Grid were to suffer such an attack. And with such threats looming, it really is a case of “not if, but when” those power continuity systems will be required to come into their own.

TV viewers were left watching blank screens yesterday as another London mains failure forced GMTV to delay their live broadcast. Crew and presenters were unable to prepare for the show after a burst water main cut power to the South Bank, affecting the London Television Centre Studies and transmitters where shows such as GMTV and This Morning are filmed. The show could eventually be seen by analogue viewers nearly twenty minutes later – with presenters hastily made-up and some with wet hair. Digital viewers had a longer wait as the signal operates on a separate supply that was not restored until almost 8 am.

Despite the apologies of the presenters and producers, Industry sources are claiming that the incident (which would have surely lost significant advertising revenue) could have been easily avoided. These sources claim that following budget cuts, ITV has refused to repair or replace a faulty emergency power system that should have kept the power on. An ITV spokesperson claimed they were ‘currently putting in place new back-up procedures to address any future issues of this nature’.

A note to the producers – Riello UPS have been addressing the issues of maximising protection while minimising cost of ownership for some time. As a result, a range of our UPS and power protection systems are keeping the cameras rolling in a number of studios across Britain….

One of the UK’s most popular bands were silenced last Friday after a power failure forced them to cancel their gig at London’s O2 Brixton Academy. The Ting Tings have apologised to fans, as late notification meant many were not told of the cancellation until they arrived at the concert, leaving hundreds disappointed. The band will eventually re-schedule the gig, however this is not an isolated incident. It’s the third time in as many months that the venue has suffered from power failures resulting in cancelled shows and a loss of both revenue and reputation for all concerned.

Apparently, the failure was part of disruption to the wider Brixton area – disruptions which appear to be occurring more and more frequently as the strain on the Capital’s supply increases. With development for the Games taking power priority, and general consumption expected to increase by over 80% in the next 5-7 years, which shout will our decision makers hear first? The powerless public? Or the sound of silence? Off course

I heard the BBC release news on a report from Cap Gemini today about the state of the UK’s electrical infrastructure. This latest report calculates the gap between supply and demand and states that the gap will narrow rapidly. Demand continues to rise and power stations are due to close at a faster rate than new ones can be brought on line. The gap between supply and demand is forecast to drop to just 2.2%. Will there be more power cuts this winter? Well the forecasters are predicting a cold snap but looking for some light in the gloom, they say that a shortfall in industrial output will help reduce demand for electricity. Every cloud has a silver lining – so what happens in 2009/10 when the economy picks up?

Well our current advertising slogan is that it only takes one second without power to crash a network. Looks like Lastminute.com had more than their fair share of power troubles recently – losing almost half a day of trading due to a power loss. You can read the full story at Computer Weekly.com which covers the power outage at their Colt data centre which is so far being put down to circuit breaker problems. The resulting power loss also affected their subsidiary sites including Medhotels.com, Holidayautos.co.uk and Travelocity.co.uk. Circuit breaker discrimination is a key part of any power continuity plan and if this was a case of random tripping, the route cause could be down to a plethora of problems on site. Off course Riello UPS offers a complete power audit service and would be only too happy to investigate this further if called in to do so. The service has been used successfully by a number of clients over recent years who have come to rely on our professionalism in power protection.