A Brazilian unit of Aker Solutions has been hit with a cyber attack, in which hackers have claimed to have locked data and encrypted files.
The Norwegian engineering giant (OSE:AKSO) announced late Tuesday that local subsidiary CSE Mecânica e Instrumentação, which provides maintenance and modifications services to oil and gas installations offshore Brazil, had been the victim of an attack on its IT systems.
The attackers – whose source and origin are as yet unclear – claim to have entered the systems, encrypted digital files and locked access to data, the company said.
Aker Solutions said it was working to “contain and neutralize the attack” on Tuesday, but did not know the full extent of the situation.
The firm previously said it was liaising with Brazilian authorities in regards to the incident, and that its global IT function was supporting the business to help resolve the situation along with external expertise.
In the meantime it said it had carried out several immediate actions, including temporarily shutting down most of the IT-systems used by the CSE business.
“So far there are no indications that other parts of Aker Solutions’ IT systems than the ones of subsidiary CSE have been infected,” it affirmed.
“Aker Solutions is doing its outmost to limit impact on employees, customers and other partners.”
CSE is a fully-owned Aker Solutions subsidiary with approximately 450 employees in Brazil. Aker acquired a 70% stake in the group as part of a 2016 deal, with the option to purchase the remaining 30% after a three-year period.
The attack on CSE, and a major hack affecting drilling group KCA Deutag in December 2021, show that energy services and contractors are amongst potential targets.
It comes as security measures ramp up across the energy sector, with Norwegian police forces now on alert for an increase in potential spying activity as relations with Russia deteriorate.
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