IT experts heave sigh of relief over Aramco success against hackers

DAMMAM: Internet security experts and information technology consultants have heaved a sigh of relief at Saudi Aramco's success in addressing and managing the threat by a malicious malware that affected 30,000 company computers.
"This is the first good news in the last two weeks," said Nasser S. Al-Fathi, a leading IT consultant for a Jubail-based oil and gas company. "All of us in the IT field were closely following this big story and were desperately waiting for a word of comfort from Saudi Aramco."
Al-Fathi believes it was the work of a nation state that is inimical to the interests of Saudi Arabia. "To me, this did not look like an attack from ordinary hackers or hacktivists," he told Arab News yesterday. "Aramco is not an ordinary company and it has layers upon layers of firewalls to protect its computers ... For somebody to hack into their computers and affect 30,000 of them indicates a great degree of sophistication and planning; something that can only be executed at a very high level."
Saudi Aramco said it has restored all its main internal network services that was impacted by a malicious virus that originated from "external sources."
“We addressed the threat immediately, and our precautionary procedures, which have been in place to counter such threats, and our multiple protective systems, have helped to mitigate these deplorable cyber threats from spiraling,” said Khalid A. Al-Falih, president and CEO, Saudi Aramco, on Sunday.
“Saudi Aramco is not the only company that became a target for such attempts, and this was not the first nor will it be the last illegal attempt to intrude into our systems," said Al-Falih. "We will ensure that we will further reinforce our systems with all available means to protect against a recurrence of this type of cyber-attack."
Without directly referring to the Saudi Aramco attack, Symantec, one of the world's largest Internet security companies, described the virus as a destructive malware that corrupts files on a compromised computer and overwrites the MBR (Master Boot Record) in an effort to render a computer unusable.
"Threats with such destructive payloads are unusual and are not typical of targeted attacks," Symantec said in a blog posting. Many IT experts quoted Symantec's statement to reiterate that it was an exercise undertaken by people who enjoy governmental patronage are more than just hackers.
Anwar Mostafa, who heads the IT department at a media house, said. "What this means is that Saudi Aramco will have to continually and continuously watch out for pirates."
It is not just Saudi Aramco that will have to watch out for the intruders. "There are a host of government and private companies and banks and ministries which will have to take lessons from the Saudi Aramco cyber-attack," said Riffat Ashour, a high-ranking IT expert. "This should be a wakeup call for all, because if Saudi Aramco can be hacked, then anybody can be hacked."
According to Ashour, there is a great degree of awareness in Saudi Arabia about Internet security. "Banks and government agencies have invested heavily in securing their data and services," he said. "This attack will further lead them to enhance security and place additional firewalls."
Ashour said the threats from hackers is constantly evolving. "Even as we speak, hackers, sitting hundreds of miles away, are busy planning their next moves ... The name of their game is subterfuge. When we find a solution to one virus, they create another ... It is a constant battle where the party that lowers the guard loses out," he said.
For now, all the affected workstations at Saudi Aramco have been cleaned and restored to service. As a precaution, remote Internet access to online resources has been restricted. And the company continues to investigate the causes of the incident and those responsible for it.
"Its findings will be of acute importance not just to Saudi Aramco but to every single institution in the Kingdom, from hospitals to ministries to schools and banks," said Al-Fathi. "I am sure Aramco, as a leader, will share it with all important institutions in the Kingdom to fight this menace."