According to BBC reports, multiple oil storage and transport companies across Europe are facing cyber-attacks. Their IT systems is disturb by cyber-attackers. Such Oiltanking in Germany, Evos in the Netherland and SEA-Invest in Belgium are the victims of these attacks. Besides, plenty of other terminals with oil transport and storage around the globe are facing the issue. Reports say the attacks happened over the weekend. Meanwhile, Experts are giving warnings that these attacks are plan attacks.
Investigation of the incident is in process
Oiltanking Deutschland GmbH & Co.KG said that they are operating under ‘’Limited Capacity’’ and also continue to investigate the incident. Some believe that the attacks are ransomware that hacks the computer system, scrambles the data, and demand a ransom.
Moreover, Belgian prosecutors say they are also investigating the attacks on SEA-Invest terminals including the company’s largest in Antwerp, called SEA-Tank. The company spoke person said that the incident happened on Sunday. The attackers hit every port they run in Europe and Africa. Meanwhile, the company is working to get the backup IT system online. Furthermore, the spokeswomen said that they are aware of these attacks on other companies, however, a deep investigation is requires to find out if there is any link.
Consequently, the companies in Netherland noticed the problems on Tuesday. They said that things are moving but much slower than normal.
Experts are looking at the possibilities of these attacks. As there is tension between Russia and Ukraine and energy crises are rising. Therefore, some believe it can be a result of a coordinated effort to disrupt the European energy sector.
Possibilities of the Cyberattacks
Senior broker at River Lake in Rotterdam, Jelle Vreeman said, “There was a cyber-attack at various terminals, and quite some terminals are not functioning. Their software is hijack and they can’t process barges. The operational system is down,”
Meanwhile, others believe, it is too early to jump to a conclusion. Another possible explanation is that companies are using the same software for operations.
Brett Callow, Threat Analyst at cyber-security company Emsisoft said, “Some types of malware scoop up emails and contact lists and use them to automatically spam malicious attachments or links, so companies with shared connections can sometimes be hit in quick succession,”
“This is why you sometimes see sector-based or geographic-based clusters of incidents.”
