Saudi Arabia warns over cyberattacks as labour ministry hit

Government hit: Report states that the labour ministry is a victim of a cyberattack. Pictured is Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

KHOBAR: Saudi Arabia warned organisations in the kingdom on Monday to be on the alert for cyberattacks including a version of the destructive Shamoon virus, as a chemicals firm reported a network disruption and the labour ministry said it had been attacked.

An alert from the telecoms authority seen by Reuters advised all parties to be vigilant for attacks from the Shamoon 2 variant of the virus that in 2012 crippled of tens thousands of computers at oil giant Saudi Aramco.