Many critical pieces of industrial infrastructure, including natural gas pipeline systems, connect to monitoring systems using encrypted software called OpenSSL, which researchers have determined is vulnerable to security breaches from the Heartbleed bug.
The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that reliance on legacy systems, such as old versions of Microsoft Windows, makes the infrastructure networks vulnerable, especially if they cannot be updated to new operating systems and software.
Bloomberg reported that most large websites have already implemented a fix. Two-thirds of the world’s Internet sites use the open-source software. However, Bloomberg’s Jordan Robertson expressed concern about the length of time that the virus has been active.
“The fact that this flaw has been around for two years raises some really interesting questions about who knew about it before,” he said. The likelihood that intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency, were unaware of the bug, is small, he said.
In his blog, Steve Rosenbush of the Wall Street Journal quoted security expert Bruce Schneier describing Heartbleed as “catastrophic.” Said Schneier: “At this point, the odds are close to one that every target has had its private keys extracted by multiple intelligence agencies.”
Recommended Reading
Rystad: More Deepwater Wells to be Drilled in 2024
2024-02-29 - Upstream majors dive into deeper and frontier waters while exploration budgets for 2024 remain flat.
Exxon Versus Chevron: The Fight for Hess’ 30% Guyana Interest
2024-03-04 - Chevron's plan to buy Hess Corp. and assume a 30% foothold in Guyana has been complicated by Exxon Mobil and CNOOC's claims that they have the right of first refusal for the interest.
TotalEnergies Starts Production at Akpo West Offshore Nigeria
2024-02-07 - Subsea tieback expected to add 14,000 bbl/d of condensate by mid-year, and up to 4 MMcm/d of gas by 2028.
E&P Highlights: Feb. 5, 2024
2024-02-05 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, including an update on Enauta’s Atlanta Phase 1 project.
CNOOC’s Suizhong 36-1/Luda 5-2 Starts Production Offshore China
2024-02-05 - CNOOC plans 118 development wells in the shallow water project in the Bohai Sea — the largest secondary development and adjustment project offshore China.