I N DEGYPT U S T RYUPDATES INSIGHTS
ROBUST CYBER RESILIENCE
IN THE UPSTREAM SECTOR BY MAI EL GHANDOUR
W
ith the world shifting towards remote working, increasing volumes of sensitive data in the oil and gas industry may be at risk.The digitization of the sector is becoming a double-edged sword, providing exciting opportunities but simultaneously posing a security threat. A cyberattack on the energy sector can, in fact, extend far beyond oil and gas production to hit the political and economic spectrum. Increasingly sophisticated cybercrime, often driven by nation-state actors with geo-political goals in mind, has become a national security threat and serves as an alarm bell for oil and gas companies to take action.
UNDERSTANDING THE SCOPE OF SENSITIVE DATA In a paper published this year by Tyler Chase; Managing Director Energy and Utilities Industry Global Leader, and Justin Turner; Associate Director Oil and Gas Cybersecurity and Data Privacy, the authors emphasize that oil and gas companies deal with a wide range of sensitive business data on a daily basis. However, these companies do not tend to consider just how valuable their data actually is. Whether upstream, midstream or downstream, the authors further explain that oil and gas sensitive data comprise plant maps, production trends, revenue forecasts, geophysical data and much more. Another type of sensitive data to protect, which oil and gas companies often overlook, is their employees’ personal information. From social security numbers, to bank account numbers, home addresses and much more, these types of data can induce identity theft and fraud. Adel Mekkawy, HR Operations Executive and Managing HR Cloud at ProServ 20
EGYPT OIL & GAS NEWSPAPER
Egypt, remarked to Egypt Oil & Gas that “what is perceived as sensitive in oil and gas companies could be everything. Every tiny detail matters to competitors and to the field itself; starting from the project preparation to proceeding with the actual steps forward from budgeting, hiring, and relying on third parties. Any kind of service needs to be so accurate.” Faced with the substantial ongoing threat of cyber-attack, organizations ought to protect their intellectual property, including information on pending lease bids, knowledge about upcoming mergers and acquisitions, geoseismic and engineering data, technology research, chemical formulae and telemetry data from wells in operation. “Security is all about who to trust to get the job done perfectly with secured data. That is why whenever there is an oil and gas project in Egypt, you would find lots of tenders going around but clients already know who they would choose as business partners,” Mekkawy pointed out.
