Halliburton Aware of Issue Affecting Certain Company Systems

When asked to confirm if Halliburton was hit by a cyberattack recently, a company spokesperson told Rigzone late Friday that Halliburton was “aware of an issue affecting certain company systems” and said the business was “working diligently to assess the cause and potential impact”.

“We have activated our preplanned response plan and are working internally, and with leading external experts, to remediate the issue,” the spokesperson added.

Rigzone asked what was affected and if all systems were operating as normal. The company did not provide any more information.

In an exclusive interview with Rigzone on the Halliburton incident, Corey Ranslem, the Chief Executive Officer of Dryad Global, said Dryad believes “these types of attacks (and the complexity of the attacks) on companies, especially in the maritime space, are going to continue at a greater propensity”.

“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done to protect maritime infrastructure, ships, and companies within this industry,” he added.

Ranslem highlighted in his response that Dryad didn’t “have a lot of detail on the attack, the attack vector, and what has actually been affected”.

Halliburton describes itself as one of the world’s leading providers of products and services to the energy industry. The company has more than 40,000 employees and works across more than 70 countries, according to its website.

In a Maritime Security Threat Advisory (MSTA) issued back in June, Dryad highlighted that the U.S. government “plans to invest over $20 billion in U.S. port infrastructure over the next five years, requiring vessels, facilities, and harbors to mitigate cyber risks, report incidents, and control vessels posing a threat to U.S. maritime infrastructure, with the Department of Homeland Security overseeing cybersecurity”.

In a fact sheet posted on its site on February 21, the White House announced that the Biden-Harris administration would issue an executive order “to bolster the security of the nation’s ports, alongside a series of additional actions that will strengthen maritime cybersecurity, fortify our supply chains, and strengthen the United States industrial base”.

The White House announced in a release published back in May that the Biden-Harris administration released “Version 2” of the National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan, which it said outlines actions the federal government is taking to improve U.S. national cybersecurity posture.  

A fact sheet posted on the White House site in May 2021 revealed that the administration launched an “all of government effort” to address a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.

Back in April this year, Aaron Roth, principal and head of federal strategy at security risk management company the Chertoff Group, and Adam Isles, the company’s head of cybersecurity, told Rigzone in a joint statement that maritime cybersecurity risk is increasing globally.

At the time, Ranslem said Dryad believes cyberattacks on both vessels and floating infrastructure are going to continue to increase substantially in the coming months and years. 

“We’ve seen sporadic attacks on vessels and infrastructure including GPS spoofing,” Ranslem told Rigzone in April.

“Cyberattacks in the future on maritime infrastructure will precede physical attacks,” he added.

Dryad Global offers a comprehensive suite of maritime intelligence solutions, the company’s website states. The Chertoff Group describes itself as a global leader in security, adding that its team of recognized experts helps organizations to manage cyber, physical, regulatory and geopolitical risks.

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