A Cyberattack in Saudi Arabia Had a Deadly Goal. Experts Fear Another Try.
- 6 years ago
A Cyberattack in Saudi Arabia Had a Deadly Goal. Experts Fear Another Try.
“If attackers developed a technique against Schneider equipment in Saudi Arabia, they could very well deploy the same technique here in the
United States,” said James A. Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
“Not only is it an attack on the private sector, which is being touted to help promote growth in the Saudi economy,
but it is also focused on the petrochemical sector, which is a core part of the Saudi economy,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, an expert on Middle East energy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
And United States government officials, their allies and cybersecurity researchers worry
that the culprits could replicate it in other countries, since thousands of industrial plants all over the world rely on the same American-engineered computer systems that were compromised.
Some technical details of the attack in August have been previously reported,
but this is the first time the earlier attacks on Tasnee and other Saudi petrochemical companies have been reported.
Government officials and cybersecurity experts in Saudi Arabia and the United States attributed the 2012 Shamoon attack to Iranian hackers.
Energy experts said the August attack could have been an attempt to complicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to encourage foreign
and domestic private investment to diversify the Saudi economy and produce jobs for the country’s growing youth population.
In January 2017, computers went dark at the National Industrialization Company, Tasnee
for short, which is one of the few privately owned Saudi petrochemical companies.
“If attackers developed a technique against Schneider equipment in Saudi Arabia, they could very well deploy the same technique here in the
United States,” said James A. Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
“Not only is it an attack on the private sector, which is being touted to help promote growth in the Saudi economy,
but it is also focused on the petrochemical sector, which is a core part of the Saudi economy,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, an expert on Middle East energy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
And United States government officials, their allies and cybersecurity researchers worry
that the culprits could replicate it in other countries, since thousands of industrial plants all over the world rely on the same American-engineered computer systems that were compromised.
Some technical details of the attack in August have been previously reported,
but this is the first time the earlier attacks on Tasnee and other Saudi petrochemical companies have been reported.
Government officials and cybersecurity experts in Saudi Arabia and the United States attributed the 2012 Shamoon attack to Iranian hackers.
Energy experts said the August attack could have been an attempt to complicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to encourage foreign
and domestic private investment to diversify the Saudi economy and produce jobs for the country’s growing youth population.
In January 2017, computers went dark at the National Industrialization Company, Tasnee
for short, which is one of the few privately owned Saudi petrochemical companies.