Key information issued for people going on holiday to Portugal and Spain after countries plunged into chaos

Wales Online

02-05-2025

Key information issued for people going on holiday to Portugal and Spain after countries plunged into chaos
The European Union's cyber security wing ruled out that the power outage was the result of a hack
The blackout prompted travel chaos in Spain and Portugal
(Image: (Image: Getty) )
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has now removed its online warning which was urging people to plan ahead if they are due to visit Spain and Portugal, now that the travel issues which arose as power outages which affected parts of Spain and Portugal and the aftermath of this has settled.
Two cybercriminal groups, Dark Storm Team and NoName057, have claimed responsibility for the power outage that left Spain and parts of Portugal and France in darkness on Monday.
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The pro-Russian hacking collectives shared messages on social media platforms Telegram and X, boasting about their alleged involvement and posting links to what they claim are compromised Portuguese government networks. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
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On platform X, a message from the Darkstorm handle read: "Isn't it funny to cut off electricity to countries from home?", alongside shared links purporting to disrupt major Portuguese ministries including the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Environment and Climate Action and The Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Reports suggest that internet test data from check-Host showed these services were either down or experiencing degraded performance at the time the hacker group was posting.
Online hacking monitoring site Leakd reported that despite no malign hacking state being officially confirmed by investigators of the outage, NoName057 is a known pro-Russian hactivist group which the site says has "previously been linked to operations targeting NATO-affiliated nations and institutions critical of Russian foreign policy".
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It added that while there was no confirmation the "blackout was directly caused by a cyberattack, the implications are chilling."
If proven to be a cyberattack, the site suggests it would rank among the largest attacks on civilian sites in Europe.
The cause behind the extensive blackouts that left Spain and Portugal in the dark remains unsolved as of today (Tuesday), despite power being largely reinstated in both nations, with some minor disruptions persisting.
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Monday witnessed one of Europe's most severe blackouts, which halted flights, immobilised metro services, interrupted mobile networks, and caused ATMs to shut down throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
By Tuesday morning, over 99% of Spain's energy demand had been recovered, according to the national electricity operator Red Eléctrica. Portuguese grid company REN reported that all 89 power substations were operational again, and electricity had been restored to every one of their 6.4 million customers.
As normality started to resume - with schools and businesses reopening, traffic congestion subsiding, and public transport systems getting back on track - the Spanish authorities have not yet offered an explanation for the blackout, one of the gravest ever experienced in Europe.
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In a matter of just five seconds, Spain, home to 49 million people, lost 15 gigawatts, amounting to 60% of its national demand.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez emphasised that the government was concentrating on two main objectives: re-establishing Spain's electrical infrastructure and determining the reasons behind the blackout to ensure such an incident "never takes place again."
The scale of this electrical outage is almost without parallel in the history of the Iberian Peninsula or Europe.
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Eduardo Prieto, director of services for system operations at Spain's electricity operator, highlighted two sharp "disconnection events" that preceded Monday's blackout. At a press briefing on Tuesday, he mentioned the need for further investigation to determine their causes.
Spain's weather authority, AEMET, reported no detection of "unusual meteorological or atmospheric phenomena" on the day of the blackout, with no abrupt temperature changes noted at their stations.
Portugal's National Cybersecurity Center has ruled out the possibility of foul play, confirming the absence of evidence pointing to a cyber attack as the cause of the power failure.
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Adding to the assurances, European Council President Antonio Costa stated there were "no indications of any cyber attack," and Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, also dismissed the idea of sabotage.
Despite these clarifications, Ribera described the incident as "one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times."