Willem Westerhof of the security company ITsec has discovered a vulnerability in European solar panels, specifically in the mechanism that converts direct current to AC and could shut down all of Europe. Although they have not yet been exploited by attackers, however, they could be exploited at any time as there are very strong chances. These converters can be manipulated by hacking from the outside, causing the energy not to pass and, in this way, the attacker could easily disable the entire energy process of a complete network, which could leave dozens of European cities without electricity. In his research, he has also discovered faults in solar panels that could add up to 17 gigawatts of power. In 2006 there was already a failure in solar panels in Germany for a value of 5 gigawatts of power and managed to leave without light, for several hours, cities like Paris or Madrid. The company in charge of these converters, the SMA, despite meeting with Willem Westerhof, declares that its solar panels are safe and that, if a failure occurs, it would have no consequences. Moreover, the investigator to denounce the situation has created a web page where he explains in greater detail about the vulnerability and the potential dangers that can appear from this vulnerability. So, what do you think about this severe vulnerability? Simply share your views and thoughts in the comment section below.
