[telecom] Hack on Saudi Aramco hit 30,000 workstations, oil firm admits

Hack on Saudi Aramco hit 30,000 workstations, oil firm admits

First hacktivist-style assault to use malware?

By John Leyden

Analysis Saudi Aramco said that it had put its network back online on Saturday, 10 days after a malware attack floored 30,000 workstations at the oil giant.

In a statement [1], Saudi Arabia's national oil firm said that it had "restored all its main internal network services" hit by a malware outbreak that struck on 15 August. The firm said its core business of oil production and exploration was not affected by the attack, which resulted in a decision to suspend Saudi Aramco's website for a period of a few days, presumably as a precaution. Corporate remote access services were also suspended as a result of the attack.

Oil and production systems were run off "isolated network systems unaffected by the attack, which the firm has pledged to investigate. In the meantime, Saudi Aramco promised [2] to improve the security of its network to guard against fresh assaults.

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