Event description

Tube, a major oil and gas company, fell victim to a cyberattack that caused a serious disruption in the production process, leading to multimillion-dollar losses.

According to sources close to the investigation, a group of hackers gained access to the natural gas purification control system. The attackers zeroed in on the adsorption column, which is a key element in the process. They increased the steam temperature in the unit, causing the adsorbent to lose its functional properties.

Tube has no choice but to stop the gas purification process to replace the adsorbent, which will take over 12 hours. The downtime can take a serious bite out of the company's bottom line.

Consequences

1. Enterprise disruptions and downtime
2. Financial damage

This has happened before

The Record

Russian hacktivist threat on Canada's pipelines is "call to action," top cyber official says

A cybersecurity incident affecting a Canadian gas pipeline was revealed in a trove of leaked U.S. intelligence materials that included an apparently intercepted conversation between a hacking group known as Zarya and an officer at Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). According to the document, marked Top Secret, during this conversation the hackers claimed they could «increase valve pressure, disable alarms, and initiate an emergency shutdown of an unspecified gas distribution station» located in Canada.