US: four russian hackers indicted

Four russian hackers with links to russian intelligence service FSB are indicted for the failed attempts to infiltrate energy companies, SPON:

The US government on Thursday published its indictments against four Russian citizens, whom it accuses of having hacked numerous energy companies around the world on behalf of the secret service FSB and the Ministry of Defense.

The charges relate to cases that date back a while. In the US, there are sealed, ready-made indictments that can be made public at any time. In this case, they are from June and August of the previous year. Now the US authorities thought the time had come to make them public.

These are two separate charges, but they have one thing in common: the hacking activities they describe are sophisticated and have been carried out over a long period of time. They are not aimed at short-term effects, but consist of targeted and well-prepared attacks in which malware is intended to be smuggled into the systems of companies in the critical infrastructure - in order to manipulate their operation on a »Day X« chosen by the attacker or even completely shut it down sabotage.

It is this type of cyber attack that is of greatest concern to security agencies around the world. An infiltrated energy infrastructure, which in extreme cases could be switched off by malicious actors, is considered a nightmare scenario.

Mexico: energy and oil industry perturbed by cartel activity

A feature about the situation in the state of Tamaulipas in the north-east of Mexico by Argus:

 "Over the past seven months, security experts working with oil, gas and renewable energy companies in the region have documented 15 deaths from cross-fire, seven assaults by cartel members fleeing confrontation with a rival gang, 25 kidnappings to extract money or extort information about rival gangs or for fuel theft, as well as numerous cases of vehicle theft and telephone extortion. Despite the high level of criminal activity, charging companies a fee to operate in the state, known as derecho de piso, is not common practice in Tamaulipas as it is in other part of the country.

A handful of illegitimate oil services companies, suspected of being fronts for laundering the profits of fuel theft, are also thought to be responsible for widely documented theft of heavy machinery, valves and pipes from oil field sites.

"Tamaulipas has a very specific security dynamic circled around criminal lookouts," Garcia said. "The groups are not necessarily tracking the companies themselves but are trying to keep track of rival organizations."

Companies operating in the state employ a range of protocols to protect their staff and operations, including daylight-only working hours, maintaining a high industrial profile through the use of vehicles and uniforms clearly marked with company logos, kidnap training for personnel, the use of hotels and apartment complexes that commit to anti-kidnap protocols, and the sharing of real-time data on criminal incidents in order to plan daily personnel movements."

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2125516-tamaulipas-turf-war-creates-nogo-zone-for-energy?backToResults=true 

You might also check out the very interesting blog "Borderlandbeat" about narcos and cartels in Mexico.