Hackers shut down UN and EU carbon trading market in Austria

1/18/11, "Hackers shut down Austrian carbon registry," BusinessGreen.com

"A co-ordinated attack by hackers has forced the closure of the Austrian emissions trading registry

• until further notice.

A notice on the body's web site reads: "For security reasons, all access to the Austrian emissions trading registry has been locked because of

• a hacker attack on January 10, 2011.
  

The Austrian registry can therefore not be reached until further notice."

• "To ensure security it is currently not foreseeable when trading in the Austrian emissions trading registry may continue," it added.

The registry administers carbon permits called EU Allowances (EUAs) under the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme.

It has now been disconnected from the main EU and UN carbon registries – the CITL and ITL –

• and traders will not be told when they can resume activities until 21 January.

The incident is the latest in a series of cyber attacks targetting European carbon markets.

In November, the Romanian arm of cement company Holcimin reported that thieves had electronically transferred 1.6 million of its EUAs into accounts in Liechtenstein, Italy and the UK.

And in February 2010, a phishing scam lifted about €3m (£2.5m) worth of permits

• from six German companies by creating bogus emissions registries and emails directing companies to a web site where they handed over security details.

The German registry, along with 12 of its European counterparts, closed for a day, although the main EU exchange remained open."

via Tom Nelson