In recent hours, Spain, Portugal, and southern France experienced a sudden and widespread power outage, causing shock and alarm in the affected European capitals. This incident, which has been described by observers as “unprecedented in years,” has raised widespread questions about the source of the fault, especially given the initial data suggesting the involvement of an entity outside the European Union.
According to Spanish media reports, the National Intelligence Center (CNI) in Madrid has launched a thorough investigation, with the possibility of “potential involvement of a North African country” in the incident, which disrupted key power stations and caused a temporary collapse of distribution networks in large areas.
Sources within Spain’s National Cybersecurity Center hinted that Algeria is among the countries being scrutinized in relation to the incident, especially in light of recent tensions in Spanish-Algerian relations, which have surfaced over the past few years due to sensitive political and trade issues, including the gas and Western Sahara files.
On the other hand, the European Space Agency’s Institute of Astrophysics released a technical report indicating unusual electromagnetic activity observed from North Africa at the same time as the outage
. However, it quickly ruled out Morocco as a suspect, stating that geomagnetic data did not show any unusual activity from Moroccan territory.
Various scenarios are being considered regarding the nature of the event, with some speculating that it was a cyberattack targeting Europe’s vital infrastructure, while others link the incident to complex technical failures, potentially caused by external influences or undisclosed electronic experiments.
This incident comes amid a delicate regional and international context, marked by rising geopolitical tensions, with a growing race between countries in energy, technology, and control of vital communication networks. It also highlights the vulnerability of some European systems in facing potential cyber threats, whether intentional or accidental.
