Cyberattack at Halliburton Forces Energy Company to Take Systems Offline

Halliburton, a key player in the oil and gas sector, has confirmed that it suffered a cyberattack and is currently focused on restoring the affected systems.
After learning about the issue, Halliburton, with headquarters in Houston and Dubai, “activated its cybersecurity response plan and launched an investigation internally with the support of external advisors to assess and remediate the unauthorized activity,” it said.
“The Company’s response efforts included proactively taking certain systems offline to help protect them and notifying law enforcement,” it stated.
Halliburton said it was working to restore systems. It is unclear whether there were any negative impacts on the company following the breach. Information about the nature of the attack or the identity of the attackers has not been revealed.
The attack comes amid concerns about increasing cyber threats targeting U.S. energy companies.
The company revealed it paid $4.4 million in ransom to attackers.
“In fact, China-sponsored hackers pre-positioned for potential cyberattacks against U.S. oil and natural gas companies way back in 2011,” he said.
“But these days, it’s reached something closer to a fever pitch. What we’re seeing now, is China’s increasing buildout of offensive weapons within our critical infrastructure, poised to attack whenever Beijing decides the time is right.”
The FBI highlighted a case from 2019 in which a firm lost its ability to monitor around 500 megawatts of wind and solar sites in multiple states due to an attack that exploited an unpatched firewall.
“While it was unclear if this specific incident was a deliberate cyberattack targeting this specific company, the incident highlighted the risks posed by a security posture that relies on outdated software,” the agency said.
Since almost all industries are heavily reliant on electricity, business sectors across the country depend on the energy sector, which makes protecting the industry crucial.
“The energy sector is well aware of its vulnerabilities and is leading a significant voluntary effort to increase its planning and preparedness. Cooperation through industry groups has resulted in substantial information sharing of best practices across the sector,” CISA said.
Many owners and operators in the sector “have more recently focused their attention on cybersecurity,” the agency added.