Spain tops European ranking of solar systems exposed on the internet, study finds

A new study has found that Spain leads Europe in a ranking it would rather not top: the number of solar energy systems left exposed on the internet. The report, titled To See the Wind and the Sun, was produced by Modat Magnify with the collaboration of Bouke van Laethem of the Dutch National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL) 1.

The researchers analysed European Union member states, countries seeking to join the bloc and members of the EFTA. Across that group, they identified more than 8,000 installations, according to the excerpt of the Xataka report available here, which cuts off before giving further figures 1. The source text provided does not include the country-by-country breakdown, the types of equipment affected, or the date of publication, so those details cannot be confirmed here.

The findings point to a wider issue for Europe. The energy transition, the growth of renewables and the push toward electrification amount to a deep transformation that is not free of risks, and the installations themselves are not exempt from them 1. Exposed systems matter because they are part of the infrastructure on which that transition depends. The available text does not describe any official response or planned measures, so what happens next remains unclear. Readers should consult the full report by Modat Magnify for the complete data and recommendations 1.