UPDATE: Aug. 23, 2024: Halliburton determined it was hit by a cyberattack Wednesday after an unauthorized third party gained access to some of its systems, the company said Friday in a regulatory filing.
Halliburton has launched an investigation after an unauthorized actor gained access to some of its systems in a hacking incident discovered Wednesday, according to 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Houston-based company, one of the world’s leading energy services providers, said it proactively shut off certain systems and notified law enforcement after learning of the intrusion.
Halliburton is working with outside advisors to investigate the incident, restore its internal systems and determine any material business impact.
The company said it is communicating with customers and other stakeholders.
Halliburton is one of the largest diversified energy services companies in the world, with more than 48,000 employees and annual revenue of $23 billion.
“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 Thursday via email.
Reuters reported the incident as a cyberattack on Wednesday and said some employees were asked not to connect to internal networks.
The company activated its response plan and is working both internally and with external experts to remediate the incident, the Halliburton spokesperson said.
The Department of Energy is aware of the reported problem, however the nature of the incident is currently unknown, an agency spokesperson said via email.
“There are no indications that the incident is impacting energy services at this time. DOE is coordinating with interagency partners,” the spokesperson said.
The incident highlights the fact cybersecurity is a fundamental component of public safety and operational resilience, according to Chris Grove, director of cybersecurity strategy at Nozomi Networks.
"It highlights the growing vulnerability of our critical infrastructures in an increasingly digitalized world,” Grove said via email. “As industries like oil and gas continue to be prime targets for ransomware and nation-state attackers, combined with an expansion of cyber-physical systems attack surfaces, the security landscape becomes more complex and challenging.”
