Cyber Resilience of Wind Energy Infrastructure: Challenges and Mitigation Strategies

The rapid growth of wind energy has positioned wind farm infrastructure as a critical pillar in the global transition to sustainable energy. With the increasing integration of advanced digital systems for monitoring, control, and automation, wind energy systems have become highly reliant on information and communication technologies. Despite the numerous benefits of increased connectivity, it has also introduced significant cyber-related risks, presenting new challenges to the security and resilience of wind energy infrastructure. This paper identifies the major cybersecurity risks facing the wind energy sector, including unauthorized access, data breaches, malware and ransomware, as well as physical security threats. We provide an overview of existing mitigation strategies and examine the challenges involved in implementing robust cyber resilience measures within wind farms. Finally, we offer recommendations for enhancing the resilience of wind energy infrastructure against cyberattacks to ensure their secure and uninterrupted operation.