Halliburton Hit by Cyberattack

Reuters, citing an unnamed source in the know, reported that Halliburton was the target of a cyberattack this week and is currently working to fix the problem.

The source told the publication the cyberattack had affected operations at the oilfield service major’s north Houston campus as well as some of its global connectivity networks.

“We are aware of an issue affecting certain company systems and are working diligently to assess the cause and potential impact. We have activated our pre-planned response plan and are working internally and with leading experts to remediate the issue,” a spokesman for the company said in a statement for the media.

Outlet Cybernews reported on suggestions that the cyberattack against Halliburton was cloud-based. The company has not confirmed or denied the issue it is experiencing is the result of a cyberattack.

Energy companies are an attractive target for cybercriminals because they operate strategic infrastructure. One such cyberattack took the Colonial pipeline offline in May 2021. The Colonial pipeline is the biggest pipeline infrastructure in the United States, running 5,500 miles from Houston to Linden, New Jersey, carrying some 2.5 million barrels of gasoline and diesel daily.

The attack on Colonial led to panic along the East Coast, a run on gas stations, and a price jump, until the owner and operator of the pipeline paid $5 million in ransom to the cybercriminals.

“Critical infrastructure operators in the United States get to decide how well they do or do not employ cybersecurity controls,” Eric Noonan, CEO of cybersecurity company CyberSheath, told CNN in comments on the Halliburton report. “This is a situation that cannot continue in perpetuity without enormous costs to the American people.”

Cybersecurity is garnering growing attention as the energy mix diversifies, too, since wind and solar infrastructure can be hacked, too, and so can EVs and EV chargers.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com

• Beijing Calls for Higher Investment in Renewable and Power Grid Technology
• China New Coal Approval Cut Signals Transition Shift: Report
• Oil Prices Slide for Fifth Day on Demand Concerns