Cyber Security Risks of Net Zero Technologies

This report is the outcome of a piece of contracted research done for the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) of the UK Government in 2022, in the hope to provide useful insights for future policy reviews and changes related to cyber security risks of the so-called “net zero technologies”, technologies that can help the UK and the world achieve the “net zero” greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goal by 2050. The report first reviews the general background about the NZ goal and sectors involved in NZ technologies, and then focuses on a broad analysis of cyber security risks and solutions related to NZ technologies, from both technological and socio-technical aspects. The report concludes with a list of identified open challenges that require more future research and development, and some recommendations to the DCMS and all relevant stakeholders playing a role on NZ technologies. The report also includes an appendix explaining our research methodology briefly, another one listing some selected researcher groups, centres and projects working on NZ technologies, and a third one listing some relevant scientific journals and magazines.