Oil giant Halliburton hit by apparent cyberattack disrupting systems

Oil giant Halliburton said Wednesday it’s grappling with a computer system issue reportedly linked to a cyberattack.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Halliburton was hit by a cyberattack that appears to be impacting business operations at the company’s Houston campus and some global networks.

Halliburton would neither confirm nor deny to CNN that it is the victim of a cyberattack, but the oilfield services firm did acknowledge an unspecified “issue.”

“We are aware of an issue affecting certain company systems and are working diligently to assess the cause and potential impact,” a Halliburton spokesperson said in a statement. “We have activated our pre-planned response plan and are working internally and with leading experts to remediate the issue.”

Halliburton declined to describe the nature of the incident.

Representatives for the Energy Department and the American Petroleum Institute were not immediately available to comment.

Cyberattacks have increasingly disrupted operations at businesses.

A ransomware attack on software provider CDK Global caused trouble at thousands of auto dealers across the United States earlier this year. CDK appears to have paid a $25 million ransom to hackers to resolve the massive disruption, sources previously told CNN.

During the spring of 2021, a ransomware attack paralyzed the Colonial Pipeline, causing panic buying that wiped out supplies at gas stations along the East Coast.

Eric Noonan, CEO of security and IT provider CyberSheath, said the apparent cyberattack on Halliburton is another reminder of the vulnerability of companies that operate critical infrastructure like energy.

“Critical infrastructure operators in the United States get to decide how well they do or do not employ cybersecurity controls,” Noonan said. “This is a situation that cannot continue in perpetuity without enormous costs to the American people.”