A recent report released by the cybersecurity company, Dragos, detailed cyber threats to the oil and gas sector and, in particular, industrial control systems. One of the threat groups being tracked as a part of this research, dubbed “Hexane,” is relatively new on the scene and has been linked to a spike in activity targeting energy companies as well as telecommunications companies.
The oil and gas industry is an attractive target to cyber threat actors due to the direct and significant impact that attacks have on the general public, as well as the value of exploiting industrial control system (ICS) networks for reconnaissance purposes.[1] The frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks targeting oil and gas and ICS are increasing due to the expanded implementation of technology in these sectors, and the political, economic, and national security climates. A newly identified group, Hexane, has been active since only May 2019 and has been seen targeting oil and gas and telecommunications companies in Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.[2] It is one of nine hacking groups currently being tracked by Dragos as ICS threats.
The full report is available here: TR-19-228-001_Hexane_Targeting_Oil_and_Gas.pdf
[1]https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/01/hexane-oil-gas-telecoms-hackers/
[2]https://dragos.com/resource/dragos-oil-and-gas-threat-perspective-summary/
