Cyber silence is dangerous

Middle East energy giant Saudi Aramco has been the victim of a cyber attack on its electronic networks, the company has announced.

The oil & gas major said it experienced sudden disruption to its networks. However, it added, the attack had no impact on its production operations or other core activities.

The announcement is a rare example of an industrial company admitting that it had been the subject of a cyber attack. It is highly unlikely, though, that Saudi Aramco is the first company in the oil & gas sector to have been targeted in this way.

In the UK, for example, the head of MI5 Jonathan Evans recently declared that the country was now under an “astonishing rate” of cyber attacks. Organisations affected, he said, included infrastructure, energy and industrial companies.

While there may be many good reasons for companies keeping IT security issues under wraps – as seems to be the case – this complete lack of openness surely hinders, rather than helps, industry’s fight against cyber crime.