World's largest oil producer Saudi Aramco resumed its operations after the cyberattack that was conducted on August, 15. In the official statement the company noted that roughly 30,000 workstations were affected via cyberattack. The virus used in it “originated from external sources”. The investigation of the security incident continues.
The company said it cleansed its workstations and resumed operations for its internal network today.
The responsibility for the attack took the hacktivist organization, the Arab Youth Group. The hackers claimed that the attack was a punishment for Saudi government, as it has negotiated with the United States to support Israel. Although, this information is not confirmed.
Some experts claim that hackers may not be the authors of the attack. Another country opposed to Saudi government policies might use them as a front. There have been other reports that the attack was an “inside job,” perpetrated by a Saudi Aramco employee.
Moreover there are reports that a new Trojan Shamoon may be malware used in the attack, as it was detected simultaneously with the attack on Saudi Aramco.
The company’s site is still unavailable. It contains a notice all electronic systems of Saudi Aramco have been isolated from outside access due to a “sudden disruption”. The oil giant apologizes for the inconvenience.
