An attack on the Creos gas pipe in Luxembourg was claimed by BlackCat (also known as ALPHV) by a hacker group called BlackCat . Cyber gangsters have not attacked the electricity and gas supply in this manner before.
There have been some amazing hacks in recent months that have left large and small companies in the energy sector paralysed by ransomware. It has now reached Creos Luxembourg. Media reports claim that Creos parent company Encevo confirmed that it was the victim to a cyber-attack on July 22nd and 23rd (via bleeding machine).
Encevo, an energy supplier in five EU countries, operates natural gas pipelines as well as electricity networks. Infographic: Viruses remain the greatest cyber threat. Encevo’s customer portals and Creos’s customer portals were unavailable due to the cyber attack. The hack did not affect delivery and no services were affected.
It just shows how vulnerable these critical systems are. Data has been stolen by the intruders, and some initial release momentum has confirmed this. It is still unknown how much data was stolen.
Investigative efforts are ongoing
Encevo stated that they will update their cyber-attack website with more information as it becomes available. Customers are advised to reset their online credentials to access the Encevo or Creos services. Customers should change passwords on any other websites if these passwords are being used.
BlackCat attacks again
The people behind the attack are far more fascinating than the actual attack. According to the current ALPHV/BlackCat identity, this group was formed from DarkSide, an active ransom ring. This group was responsible in 2021 for the attack on Colonial Pipeline which closed down the main gasoline/diesel pipeline on the east coast.
The FBI tracked down DarkSide and eventually made BlackMatter. The hackers have since carried out numerous attacks on governments, energy suppliers and fashion chains worldwide.
