BlackCat: Trojan Attacks European Gas Pipeline

A hacker group called BlackCat, also known as ALPHV, has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Creos gas pipeline in Luxembourg. It is not the first attack on the gas and electricity supply by cyber gangsters.

In recent months, there have been some spectacular hacks that have left both large companies and smaller companies in the energy sector crippled by ransomware. Now it has reached Creos Luxembourg. According to media reports, Creos parent company Encevo has confirmed that it was the victim of a cyber-attack between July 22 and 23 (via bleeding computer).

Encevo is an energy supplier active in five EU countries and operates natural gas pipelines and electricity networks. Infographic: Viruses are still the biggest cyber threat Due to the cyber attack, the customer portals of Encevo and Creos were no longer accessible. However, there were no delivery issues and none of the services offered by the company were interrupted by the hack.

But it just goes to show how vulnerable these important systems are. The invaders have captured data – and this has already been confirmed by some initial release momentum. The extent to which data has been stolen is still under investigation.

Investigations are underway

Encevo said that as more information becomes available, they will post it on a dedicated cyber-attack webpage. For now, all customers are advised to reset the online credentials that they used to interact with the Encevo and Creos services. If these passwords are also used on other websites, customers should also change their passwords on these websites.

BlackCat attacks again

Much more interesting than the attack itself, however, are the people behind it. The group, which currently appears as ALPHV/BlackCat, is said to have emerged from the previously active ransom ring DarkSide. This group was responsible for the 2021 attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which shut down the main gasoline and diesel pipeline on the east coast of the United States.

DarkSide was hunted down by the FBI and eventually resurfaced as BlackMatter. Since then, the hackers have carried out a number of attacks worldwide on governments, energy suppliers, fashion chains, and a Swiss airport service provider.