Power Plant Hacked: How Digital Identities Stop Attacks
We analyze the real attack chain and show how device identities, mTLS and PKI can stop lateral movement in OT environments.
Topic
When & Where
Details
Format:
Technology lecture
Language:
German
Session description
Speaker: Sven Uthe
On December 29, 2025, attackers gained access to the OT environment of a Polish combined heat and power plant, according to CERT Polska. Their path led from a compromised wind farm network through a cellular router and a private APN into the plant’s OT environment. An accessible industrial controller became a pivot point into the internal network, after which several PLCs were manipulated. The incident highlights a fundamental issue: A private network provides connectivity – but not trustworthy identity.
In this 10-minute OT Attack Deep Dive, Sven Uthe, CTO of DEVITY, reconstructs the real attack chain and shows where PKI, mTLS and digital device identities could have interrupted lateral movement.
The session focuses on three technical control points ...
