More than 1,600 US offshore oil and gas facilities are at “increasing” and “significant” risk of cyberattacks, and therefore must be properly protected, a new report says.
The warning from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) comes in a report submitted to the US Congress, adding that the facilities produce “significant” amounts of the country’s oil and gas. .
To prepare the report, the GAO took a closer look at the network of facilities and their operational technology (OT) used to run the equipment installed there.
ransomware attack
Clearly, an attack on the OT would cause a disaster on par with the 2010 failure of Deepwater Horizon’s explosion-preventing device. Back then, the offshore rig suffered an OT failure resulting in explosion and sinking. In total, 11 people were killed and several were seriously injured. Moreover, the United States had to deal with the largest oil spill at sea in its history.
But the Deepwater Horizon incident wasn’t the only event the GAO covered. The Colonial Pipeline ransomware, which occurred last year, disrupted the transportation of gas and gas-derived products to a large part of the southeastern part of the country. Furthermore, the company was forced to pay $5 million in ransom just to reboot the system.
In addition to local incidents, the report also addresses events (albeit temporary) around the world, which should be closely watched. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has disrupted gas distribution, and with Russia one of the largest exporters of natural gas to Europe, the Old Continent now faces significant price shocks. tell. Russian hackers are also busy, especially since February of this year. The GAO says cybercriminals, especially state-sponsored groups, are well-equipped to target power companies and similar service providers.
The report concluded that turning a blind eye to these facilities would create “substantial liability.” Instead, the U.S. government should focus on developing a cybersecurity strategy for its oil and gas structures, including risk assessment, implementation measures, coordination of efforts, and assessment of risks. necessary power.
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