Virus shuts down gas company’s site and offices

The official website and the email servers of Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company – the world’s second largest liquefied natural gas company which distributes some 36 million tons of it every year – have been taken offline after a still unknown virus hit the company’s office systems.

The breach was confirmed by a RasGas spokesperson, who made sure to note that operational systems at onshore and offshore installations have not been affected, and consequently neither was gas production and cargo delivery.

According to reports, the attack began on Monday 27 August, and the website (at rasgas.com) is still offline.

The lack of details about the attack brought forth speculations about the individuals behind it and about the malware they used.

Given the recent attacks against Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company and the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, it is speculated that the hacker group that claimed responsibility for those attacks might be behind this one as well. If they are, we’ll know soon, as they are not shy about tooting their own horn.

Speculations also abound on whether the disruption has been caused by the infamous and destructive Shamoon malware.