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From the Guardian today:

Hundreds of Britain’s smallest power plants could remain at a higher risk to state-sponsored cyber-attacks until the 2030s despite a successful Iran-linked hack last month, it has emerged.

Officials this week briefed energy bosses on the breach, which is understood to have shut an unnamed small gas power plant for four days last month, and put the industry on alert over the growing cyber threat facing energy infrastructure.

However, the government’s own plan to toughen the baseline cybersecurity standards for Britain’s smallest power generators will not be required until the end of 2030, raising concerns over “an unacceptable gamble with our national security”. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/27/uk-small-power-plants-risk-cyber-attacks-iran-hack

This has obvious implications for Scottish Labour’s ‘small modular nuclear reactor’ energy strategy

The UK Labour Party, fully backed by the Governor General for Scotland, Douglas Alexander, by the successor to Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour, plans to build large numbers of small modular reactors across the UK, including in Scotland.

In the i in April 2025, the above and:

Sometimes he would patrol rural lanes on foot, carrying his assault rifle, looking out for any terrorists hiding in the countryside. On other assignments he would man machine guns mounted on armoured ships, watching for any sign of hostile vessels coming his way. Or he would drive in weapons-laden road convoys, monitoring potential threats from vehicles.

While serving as an armed officer with the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), Matt Okuhara saw every aspect of how the UK’s nuclear power stations and their radioactive fuel are protected from terrorists.

He spent years escorting the transport of uranium fuel to and from plants, which would be planned for months in advance. “Nuclear material is at its most vulnerable when it’s in transit,” he explains. “You’ve got to move it as secretly as possible.”

‘I guarded Britain’s nuclear sites – our security can’t cope with new mini reactors’

His main point is that this would be impossible with the very large number of these small sites planned compared to the current 9 large stations.

This comes on top of other serious concerns discussed here:

More waste, more cancer?

Labour to ‘push past nimbyism’ to build small modular reactors less likely to melt down but as Stanford University research shows more leaky, causing more cancer, and producing 9 times more radioactive waste

Click on the above for full report.

Dependence on Russia?

Labour’s planned small modular reactors – inefficient, polluting and carcinogenic – will also be dependent on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) from Putin’s Russia which has ‘complete monopoly’ to undermine our energy security

Higher costs?

Research from USA reveals ‘eye-popping’ new costs for small nuclear reactors favoured by Labour

Help Talking-up Scotland keep going

Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going

Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421