Several liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers and exporters, including Chevron Corp., Cheniere Energy Inc. and Kinder Morgan Inc., were said to have been attacked by hackers on the eve of the Russian led invasion. the act was perpetuated as the hackers gained access to computers belonging to current and former employees of the listed companies.
According to Bloomberg, an investigation was set up last month to look into the crime and the team, Resecurity, made several discoveries. One of the findings was that the attacks targeted companies involved with the production of LNG, and they were the first stage in an effort to infiltrate an increasingly critical sector of the energy industry.
Resecurity CEO, Gene Yoo stated that the hackers were looking to pay top dollar on the dark web for access to personal computers belonging to workers at large natural gas companies in the U.S., which were used as a back door into company networks. Yoo said. The researchers located the hackers’ servers and found a vulnerability in the software, which allowed them to obtain files from the machines and see what the attackers had already done, Yoo said.
Through some files found on the hackers’ server, the team found that the attackers gained access to more than 100 computers belonging to current and former employees of 21 major energy companies.
The attackers were said to have compromised the target machines themselves, and in others they bought access to specific computers that were already infected by others, offering as much as $15,000 for each one.
Are They Russian Hackers
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles-based cyber security company was unable to uncover the motive behind the attack. The timing of the cyber assault coincides with the increase in the price of LNG.
Yoo said he believed the attack was carried out by state-sponsored hackers, but declined to speculate further. Are they Russians? The investigation team noted that the hacker belonged to a Russian group known for several major attacks. It seems they might be a full-scale attack soon.
