By Daniel Wingfield, Data Protection Analyst at 360 Privacy
Setting the Stage
With the ever-growing emphasis on the importance of cybersecurity for executives and companies, there is an abundant amount of information on the topic available. With this vast sea of information, it can be challenging for executives to tailor their cybersecurity program to best suit their needs. It is vital for executives to understand the biggest digital threats to their industry and implement the proper safeguards to protect their consumers and their companies. Digital privacy and security are not one size fits all concepts. Varying industries and companies have different digital security needs dependent on factors such as areas of vulnerability and stored data types. Because of this, it is important to highlight common threats among specific industries and discuss best practices for prevention. One such industry worth highlighting is the Oil and Gas industry, specifically the growing number of ransomware attacks taking place throughout this sector.
The Evolution of Ransomware
IBM defines ransomware as “a type of malware that holds a victim’s sensitive data or device hostage, threatening to keep it locked, or worse, unless the victim pays a ransom to the attacker (Kosinksi 2024)”. As cybersecurity awareness and technology have increased over the years, ransomware attacks have evolved, becoming more sophisticated and thus more costly to those who fall victim. With the evolution of ransomware attacks, the threat to personally identifiable information (PII) of consumers, executives, and employees has become a significant issue amongst major industries. Common double-extortion attacks have raised the stakes, giving threat actors the ability to steal valuable PII through ill-gained access to company data and sell the information on the black market or leak it online. Still another evolution known as triple extortion has allowed ransomware to be weaponized in a way that extends the threat to a larger radius of victims multiplying the impact of such attacks (Kosinksi 2024).
The modern, sophisticated, and still ever evolving state of ransomware attacks has made it one of the largest threats to the digital security of executives and their companies today. In September of 2024 Spycloud released their “Malware and Ransomware Defense Report”. Their findings led them to label ransomware attacks as the leading cybersecurity threat among all industries. The report found the average cost of a ransomware attack to be $4.91 million, with up to one third of American consumers being directly affected in 2023 (Spycloud 2024). These statistics illustrate the massive impact ransomware attacks are having across all industries, as security measures and digital practices within companies are failing to defend against this highly sophisticated threat.
Getting Specific
As previously mentioned, different industries have varying digital threats and thus varying digital protection needs. While ransomware attacks are clearly a significant threat across all industries, the oil and gas industry is one of the most commonly targeted sectors by ransomware attacks with some of the most devastating impacts. The reason oil and gas companies are so commonly targeted by these attacks is because of the potential of a large payoff. The cost of recovering from modern ransomware attacks has become increasingly more arduous for companies, making the likelihood of threat actors receiving their ransom much higher. A report published by Sophos found that in 2023, over 50% of ransomware victims within the oil and gas industry took over a month to recover from the attack, up from just 19% in 2022 (Vasquez 2024). Being a critical infrastructure industry, threat actors are often able to leverage oil and gas companies for larger ransoms than seen in other industries, forcing the hand of executives and their teams to protect highly sensitive data and prevent impediment in operations. In 2023, this phenomenon was apparent with 67% of companies within the sector claiming to have been the target of a ransomware attack compared to 59% across all other industries. The median paid ransom within the industry was over $2.5 million (Lemos 2024).
Impact on Consumers
Beyond the effect ransomware attacks have directly on executives and companies within the oil and gas industry, it is also important to consider the impact on consumers. There are few, if any, industries where the effects of cyber-attacks can be felt on such a large, highly publicized scale. One of the most highly publicized cyberattacks in recent years took place in 2021, when it was announced that a ransomware attack had taken place against Colonial Pipeline. With the pipeline supplying about 45% of all fuel on the East Coast of the United States, the effects were devastating (Meriplex 2024). The company shut down their pipelines, causing gas stations across the region to close as their supply dwindled. With stations closing, fuel prices skyrocketed throughout the entire country creating a palpable effect on the U.S. economy. Colonial eventually paid the ransom demanded by the threat actors but the damage to consumers had already occurred. The snowball effect created by the attack led to a national impact that emphasized how catastrophic ransomware attacks can be not just on individual companies but entire economies.
Proactive Measures Prevent Disaster
As the quantity and sophistication of ransomware attacks continues to increase, further impacts on the scale of the previously illustrated example seem to be inevitable. Understanding the threat oil and gas companies are facing against modern ransomware attacks begs a call to action for a tailored solution to protect executives within the field from exposure and ensure the safety of valuable company and consumer data. At 360 Privacy, individualized solutions proposed, implemented, and monitored by a dedicated team of experts, provide the protection necessary to counteract the threats presented in an ever-evolving digital world. A company made up of industry leaders, 360 separates itself through our human touch, whose efficiency and multifaceted capabilities are unmatched in the industry. Using propriety technology, our team works expeditiously to locate and remove PII from the open web as well as monitor the dark web for any leaked data. Our tiered system provides clients with tailor fit digital security, allowing for the most comprehensive protection of sensitive data available.
Sources
https://www.ibm.com/topics/ransomware
https://spycloud.com/resource/2024-malware-ransomware-defense-report/
https://cyberscoop.com/ransomware-energy-oil-gas-report/
https://meriplex.com/cyber-threats-for-the-oil-and-gas-industry/
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