Oil Giant Halliburton Partly Went Offline Following Cyberattack

A significant player in the global oil industry, Halliburton, was hit by a severe cyberattack that led to the shutdown of some of its systems. The company confirmed the incident after experiencing operational disruptions.

Haliburton Confirmed Suffering Cyberattack That Shut Down Some Of Its Systems

According to Reuters, the oil giant Halliburton experienced a serious cyberattack that impacted its operations.

Initial reports of the incident emerged on August 22, 2024, when Halliburton acknowledged a security issue affecting certain systems. The company stated that it was working on resolving the issue, including enlisting the help of external experts.

Although the exact nature of the attack was initially unclear, an anonymous source within the company revealed to Reuters that the incident affected global connectivity networks and the company’s north Houston campus, leading to restrictions on internal network access for some staff members.

Subsequently, the US Department of Energy (DOE) provided a statement acknowledging the incident but refrained from specifying the nature of the attack.

However, the exact nature of the incident is unknown at this time.

DOE assured that there were no significant impacts of the cyberattack on energy services.

There are no indications that the incident is impacting energy services at this time, and DOE is coordinating with interagency partners.

Shortly after, Halliburton filed a public disclosure with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirming the cybersecurity breach. The filing revealed that the company detected the breach on August 21, 2024, took immediate action to address it, notified law enforcement, and initiated an investigation.

On August 21, 2024, Halliburton Company became aware that an unauthorized third party gained access to certain systems. The company activated its cybersecurity response plan, launched an investigation, and notified law enforcement. Ongoing efforts include system restoration and assessing the impact of the incident.

Halliburton also committed to informing relevant stakeholders about the incident.

The company is communicating with its customers and stakeholders, following safety standards, and assessing the effects of the incident.

RansomHub Ransomware Responsible For This Attack

While initial reports lacked detail, it later emerged that Halliburton fell victim to a ransomware attack.

Though not officially confirmed by Halliburton, reports from Bleeping Computer indicated that the company informed suppliers about the incident, mentioning IOCs pointing to RansomHub ransomware. One IOC included a Windows executable, “maintenance.exe,” confirmed as the RansomHub encryptor.

Details regarding ransom payments or data exfiltration by the attackers are yet to be disclosed.

Halliburton, an American oil company ranked #2 globally, employs approximately 50,000 individuals across its numerous subsidiaries worldwide.

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