Thousands of European wind and solar systems exposed to the internet, researchers warn
Dutch researchers say they found 8,547 internet-facing control and admin systems linked to solar parks and wind farms across 35 European countries.
Thousands of administrative systems at wind and solar power parks across Europe are exposed to the internet, potentially giving attackers access to interfaces that can stop turbines, Dutch researchers warned on Tuesday.
Soufian El Yadmani of internet-scanning company Modat and Bouke van Laethem of the Dutch National Cyber Security Centre identified 8,547 internet-facing systems they could link to specific solar parks (7,942) and wind farms (605) in 35 European countries. They presented the findings on Tuesday at the ONE Conference in The Hague. (Reuters)
The exposed systems included administrative and login interfaces as well as operational interfaces showing data and controls. The researchers said they believed full remote control would have been possible at around 181 sites; one turbine’s web page displayed live data, “Start, Stop and Reset” buttons and the turbine’s location, and some systems controlled several turbines or a whole farm.
Spain had the most exposed solar systems (2,766), followed by Greece (1,860); Germany had the most exposed wind systems (212), with Italy at 192. The researchers urged operators to take admin interfaces off the internet immediately. El Yadmani said: “What we can map in hours, an attacker can map in hours too.”
The warning comes amid suspected sabotage and cyberattacks on European critical infrastructure frequently attributed by Western governments to Russia since 2022, which Moscow denies. The report cited CERT Polska’s analysis of a December 2025 attack on 30 wind and solar sites in Poland as an example of the threat.
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