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Saudi Aramco Says August Cyber Attack Targeted Entire Country

Dhahran – Oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Sunday that an August cyber attack on its computer network targeted not just the company but the kingdom’s economy as a whole.

Dhahran – Oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Sunday that an August cyber attack on its computer network targeted not just the company but the kingdom’s economy as a whole.

The interior ministry, which joined Aramco’s investigation into the attack that affected some 30,000 of the firm’s computers, said it was carried out by organized hackers from several different foreign countries.

Saudi Cyber Attacks“The attack targeted the whole economy of the country, not just Aramco as an entity,” said Abdullah al-Saadan, who headed the company’s inquiry team.

“The aim was to stop pumping oil and gas to domestic and international markets,” he told reporters.

Interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki said the joint investigation had established that an “organized group launched the attack from outside the kingdom and from different countries.”

“It is in the interest of the investigation not to reveal any results,” he told reporters, stressing that “no Aramco employees or contractors were involved in the hacking.”

On August 27, Aramco said it had restored its main internal network after the August 15 attack, which it described as a “malicious virus that originated from external sources.”

The state-owned group which runs all Saudi Arabia’s oil production said at the time that its oil exploration and production were unaffected “as they operate on isolated network systems.”

Related: US Thinks Iran Is Behind Cyberattack in Saudi: Ex-Official

Related: Cyber War Targets Middle East Oil Companies

Related: Malware Wipes Data At Unnamed Middle East Energy Firm

Related: Kaspersky Planning Secure OS Built For The Age of Cyberwar

Related: Saudi Arabia’s National Oil Company Kills Network After Cyber Attack

Written By

AFP 2023

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