Attack marks first known case of a British power facility being brought offline by Iranian-linked hackers, The Telegraph reports
Mandi Kogosowski
| 23/08/2026
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Iran-linked hackers shut down a small British power plant for four days in an unprecedented cyber attack, The Telegraph reported, in what is believed to be the first known case of a UK power facility being brought to a standstill by hackers affiliated with the Iranian regime.
The attack took place in July, with staff working for four days to bring the facility back online. British officials have declined to identify the site for security reasons, but said it was a small-scale generator and not critical infrastructure.
The shutdown reportedly had no impact on Britain’s wider electricity supply or energy generation. The UK has numerous smaller generators that provide additional power when needed, meaning the loss of a single facility would not threaten the national grid.
The attack coincided with a series of cyber attacks targeting water infrastructure across 12 US states, which were also linked to Iranian hackers and raised concerns at the White House.
The incident may have been intended less to cause disruption than to demonstrate that Iranian-linked hackers could penetrate and disrupt sensitive infrastructure. The attack was not widely noticed by the public and is not believed to have been aimed at causing civilian harm.
Following the incident, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero contacted power companies to warn them about the cyber threat. The National Cyber Security Centre has also been involved, although officials have withheld further details about the attack.
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Iran-linked hackers hit UK power plant
