Oil Giant Halliburton Reportedly Hit By Cyberattack, Disrupting Houston Operations

Halliburton Company, the world’s second-largest oil service provider and a major player in global fracking, has reportedly fallen victim to a cyberattack, according to sources speaking with Reuters. Insiders revealed that the cyber incident had disrupted operations at the company’s Houston headquarters and affected some of its global networks.

The company was also working with “leading external experts” to fix the issue, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The attack appeared to impact business operations at the company’s north Houston campus, as well as some global connectivity networks, the person said, who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

The company has asked some staff not to connect to internal networks, the person said. -RTRS 

Halliburton has neither confirmed nor denied the cyber incident but acknowledged an issue affecting some of its systems.

A company spokesperson told CNN:

“We are aware of an issue affecting certain company systems and are working diligently to assess the cause and potential impact.”

“We have activated our pre-planned response plan and are working internally and with leading experts to remediate the issue.”

It’s unclear if the cyber incident is a ransomware attack.

In 2021, the ransomware group DarkSide disrupted operations across the Colonial Pipeline network, which carries gasoline and jet fuel up and down the East Coast. 

A notable cyber incident unfolded in June when software provider CDK Global sparked chaos for thousands of auto dealers across the US. 

The cyber incident at Halliburton serves as yet another critical reminder that hackers could paralyze companies operating critical infrastructure, such as those in the energy sector, at any time.