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Tengrinews.kz – Kazakhstan will establish a specialized cybersecurity center to protect thermal power plants (TPPs) from hacking attempts, Vice Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry Dmitry Mun announced.
According to Mun, the decision comes amid growing cyber threats as the country’s energy infrastructure undergoes digital transformation. While digitalization improves efficiency, it also increases vulnerability to external interference.
“As this is a key sector, we need experts who understand its specifics — the devices, the risks of downtime, and operational processes. They must develop new requirements tailored to critical energy facilities,” Mun explained.
TPPs are considered part of critical infrastructure, essential for heating, electricity, water supply, transport and hospitals. A successful cyberattack could disrupt entire cities, industrial operations, and even trigger major accidents.
Global cases underline the risks: hackers cut off power to hundreds of thousands in Ukraine in 2015–2016, the 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack in the US caused a fuel crisis, and the Stuxnet virus in Iran in 2010 disabled complex industrial systems.
In response, many countries have reinforced energy security. The EU enforces NIS directives requiring cybersecurity standards, the US runs regular drills under CISA oversight, while Japan and South Korea operate dedicated response centers for energy-sector cyber incidents.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has previously stressed the need to modernize housing and utilities, boost energy efficiency, and ensure transparency in infrastructure projects through digital tools, describing these as priorities for Kazakhstan’s future development.
