- Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA says it was hit by a cyber attack
- It appears to be a ransomware incident as systems and shipments appear to be disrupted
- The Venezuelan oil ministry blames the attack on the United States
Venezuelan state-owned oil company Patroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has claimed that it has recently suffered a cyber attack at the hands of the United States.
PDVSA says operations remain unaffected, but sources claim systems were taken down and oil cargo deliveries suspended, Pakinomist reports.
The organization has struggled to restore key systems after the incident, with staff told to shut down computers, disconnect WiFi and cut off external hardware connections, internal memos seen by Bloomberg confirm – with delays to planned loadings and ’emergency response across the enterprise’.
An escalating conflict
Although details have yet to be confirmed, it appears that this incident was a ransomware attack given the instructions to disconnect WiFi, as this is likely an attempt to quarantine any 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 going into and out of Venezuela’ – which the Venezuelan government calls a ‘grotesque threat’.
In a statement, PDVSA has categorically rejected what it calls the “despicable act, orchestrated by foreign interests in collaboration with unpatriotic actors seeking to undermine the country’s right to sovereign energy development” [machine translated].
The organization goes on to explain; ‘This attempted attack is part of the US government’s public strategy to seize Venezuelan oil through force and piracy. The working class in the hydrocarbon industry has been subject to similar attacks in the past.’
This comes after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela which it claims was “used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran”. However, analysis of satellite images from ABC reveals location data may have been ‘deliberately manipulated’ to justify the seizure.
The US has moved warships into the region, where thousands of troops have been placed by the US within ‘striking distance’ of Venezuela, and new sanctions have been imposed on several ships carrying Venezuelan oil.
“Nothing and no one will stop the victorious march of PDVSA and its working class in the service of all Venezuelans,” PDVSA concludes.
Via Pakinomist
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