Plurilock Security Inc CEO Ian Paterson issued a stark message to businesses following a recent cyberattack on Canadian energy giant Suncor Energy.
“Cybercrime within the North American critical infrastructure sector is on the rise,” Paterson said in a statement.
Suncor, a major Calgary-based oil company, confirmed it had experienced a cyberattack without providing further information about the attack or its affected operations. Complaints on social media emerged over the weekend, with users reporting difficulties using credit or debit cards at Petro-Canada gas stations and accessing car wash services.
The incident echoed the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, which halted pipeline operations and caused significant disruption in the United States.
“Following the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, Plurilock has seen a trend in which oil and gas companies have become primary targets for cybercriminals, and we believe that similar incidents will continue to occur in the near future,” Plurilock’s Paterson said.
The CEO was quoted by the Canadian Press as saying that these public-facing issues could be “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“We encourage all businesses, regardless of industry, to strengthen their cyber defenses and adhere to a zero-trust policy to ensure that cybersecurity requirements are met and society’s most critical assets are secure,” Paterson added in a statement.
Plurilock combines next-generation cybersecurity with a comprehensive line of products and services that enable teams across North America and the globe to compute safely in a remote work world.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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