Hackers targeted US liquified natural gas producers in run-up to Ukraine war

The hackers were looking to pay top dollar on the dark web for access to personal computers belonging to workers at large natural gas companies in the US, which were used as a back door into company networks, Yoo said. — Photo by Kevin Ku on Unsplash

In mid-February, hackers gained access to computers belonging to current and former employees at nearly two dozen major natural gas suppliers and exporters, including Chevron Corp, Cheniere Energy Inc and Kinder Morgan Inc, according to research shared exclusively with Bloomberg News.

The attacks targeted companies involved with the production of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and they were the first stage in an effort to infiltrate an increasingly critical sector of the energy industry, according to Gene Yoo, chief executive officer of Los Angeles-based Resecurity Inc, which discovered the operation. They occurred on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when energy markets were already roiled by tight supplies.