- Venezuela’s national oil company, PDVSA, said it had been hit by a cyber attack.
- This appears to be a ransomware incident as systems and deliveries appear to be disrupted.
- Venezuela’s oil ministry accuses the United States of being responsible for the attack.
Venezuela’s national oil company Patrulleros de Venezuela (PDVSA) says it was recently hit by a cyber attack by the United States.
PDVSA says operations are not affected, but sources say systems have been shut down and oil product deliveries have been interrupted. Reuters Information.
The organization struggled to restore key systems after the incident, and employees were instructed to shut down computers, disconnect Wi-Fi and disconnect external hardware, according to internal memos. Bloomberg confirm, with delays to planned loads and “forced emergency measures across the enterprise.”
A growing conflict
Although details have yet to be confirmed, given the instructions to disconnect the Wi-Fi connection, it seems likely that this incident is a ransomware attack, as it is likely an attempt to quarantine affected devices or servers to prevent attackers from gaining further access.
US President Trump has since ordered a “total and complete” blockade of “all sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela”, which the Venezuelan government called a “grotesque threat”.
In a statement, PDVSA categorically rejected what it described as a “despicable act orchestrated by foreign interests in collaboration with unpatriotic actors seeking to undermine the country’s right to sovereign energy development.”
The organization further explains: “This attempted attack is part of the US government’s public strategy to seize Venezuelan oil through violence and piracy. The working class in the hydrocarbon industry has faced similar attacks in the past.”
This came after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that was allegedly “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran”. But the analysis of satellite images of alphabet reveals that location data may have been “deliberately manipulated” to justify the seizure.
The US has deployed warships to the region, with thousands of US troops within “battlefield” range of Venezuela, and new sanctions have been imposed on several ships carrying Venezuelan oil.
“Nothing and no one will prevent the triumph of PDVSA and its working class, at the service of all Venezuelans,” PDVSA concludes.
