Saudi Aramco Faces $50m Ransom Demand

National oil firm Saudi Aramco has confirmed that company files  have been leaked after hackers reportedly demanded a $50 million ransom from the world’s largest oil producer. Sources are reporting that that 1 TB of Aramco company data had been captured by cyber criminals, who are demanding $50 million in crypto currency to restore the data.

The global oil and gas industry has long been criticised for failing to invest in cyber security although Aramco has strengthened its cyber security since first being hit by the Shamoon virus in 2012, which resulted in the destruction of 30,000 of its computers. The source of the 2012 attack aimed to disrupt production from the world’s largest exporter of crude has never been identified.

The giant Saudi Arabian energy company has not said how the attack took place, whether its supply chain contractors had been hacked or if the files were leaked in some other way. "We confirm that the release of data was not due to a breach of our systems, has no impact on our operations and the company continues to maintain a robust cybersecurity posture," the firm said. It isn’t clear whether Saudi Aramco or its contractors heeded the extortion demands, but since there’s no indication of any data being encrypted in the attack, the primary concern would have been to keep the information away from its competitors.

The global energy industry has seen a major peak up in cyber attacks with Colonial Pipeline hack becoming the most visible recent example. The oil and gas industry, which includes the companies that own wells, pipelines and refineries, has long been a laggard in security spending, according to sources. 

Energy companies from electric utilities, to power-grid operators to pipeline operators have warned that cyber-attacks are becoming more and more prevalent. The largest US power grid operator, PJM Interconnection LLC, has warned regulators that it’s facing increasing attacks. 

Energy companies including electric utilities, power-grid operators and pipeline operators have warned that cyber attacks are becoming more and more prevalent. 

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