Hybrid attack on Ireland's critical infrastructure 'could cause social collapse within 48 hours'

The Defence Forces team detailed threats to the country’s critical national infrastructure, focusing on the electricity grid. File Picture 

A combined physical and cyberattack on a critical electricity transformer would cause “grid collapse” within two hours, impact critical services within six hours, and threaten “social collapse” in just 48 hours, according to experts from the Defence Forces.

A team of engineers and air corps officers told managers of State utilities and engineers working in critical infrastructure that these timelines were based on a “plausible, evidence-based” hybrid attack.