Security News > 2022 > November > US offshore oil and gas installation at 'increasing' risk of cyberattack

The US Government Accountability Office has warned that the time to act on securing the US's offshore oil and natural gas installations is now because they are under "Increasing" and "Significant risk" of cyberattack.

A report to Congress looked at a network of "More than 1,600 offshore oil and gas facilities," which the federal watchdog pointed out produce a "Significant" amount of America's domestic oil and gas - and the operational technology tech that looks after and controls the physical equipment.

In a worst case scenario, the report suggested cyberattacks on Operational Technology Systems in the offshore oil and gas sector could result in a disaster on the scale of the 2010 failure of mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer.

The report points out the semi-submersible offshore drilling rig's crippled operation tech system contributed to its explosion and sinking "As well as 11 deaths, serious injuries, and the largest marine oil spill in the history of the US.".

The economy.... According to officials at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, cyberattacks against pipeline OT - such as valves that control oil and gas flow - could "Disrupt production and transmission and, thereby, negatively affect energy supplies, markets, and the economy."

The report concludes that the lack of action to address cybersecurity risks to the more than 1,600 oil and gas facilities and structures on the outer continental shelf creates "Significant liability," given that a successful cyberattack on such infrastructure could have potentially catastrophic effects.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/11/21/us_oil_gas_cyber_threats/