(Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A cyberattack has hit Halliburton, a major oil services company in the US, raising worries that ransomware may be involved.
Halliburton confirmed the incident today in a Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, a day after media outlets reported that the cyberattack was affecting the company’s computer systems in its Houston headquarters and at other sites.
In the filing, Halliburton said it became aware of the attack on Wednesday. But it's unclear if the incident is tied to ransomware, which can encrypt fleets of computers and servers. Halliburton has launched an investigation with the help of third-party security experts.
“The company’s response efforts included proactively taking certain systems offline to help protect them and notifying law enforcement,” Halliburton added. “The company’s ongoing investigation and response include restoration of its systems and assessment of materiality.”
But it looks like Halliburton is in the early stages of investigating the cyberattack. In the filing, the company says it's "working to identify any effects of the incident."
Halliburton didn't respond to a request for comment, but on Thursday, the US Energy Department told CNN that it had seen no signs of the attack impacting energy services.
Still, the incident echoes the 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, which halted all oil pipeline operations for six days as a precaution. The disruption briefly caused a fuel shortage in several US states, triggering gasoline prices to rise. Colonial Pipeline also paid $4.4 million in Bitcoin to the ransomware group responsible, Darkside, in an effort to help restore the company’s IT operations.
The attention from the attack led DarkSide to disband after US authorities began cracking down on its activities. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has since repeatedly cited the Colonial Pipeline attack as it encourages companies and government agencies to bolster their cyber defenses to protect critical infrastructure.
"For too long, we have sacrificed security for features and speed to market, leaving us increasingly vulnerable,” CISA Director Jen Easterly said last year.