Se atribuye a un grupo de hackers ruso la responsabilidad de un ataque cibern\u00e9tico contra una planta de gas natural licuado en Texas que condujo a su explosi\u00f3n el 8 de junio pasado. La explosi\u00f3n tuvo lugar en la planta de licuefacci\u00f3n y terminal de exportaci\u00f3n de gas natural licuado de Freeport (Freeport LNG) en la isla Quintana de Texas. El incidente tendr\u00e1 un impacto duradero en las operaciones de Freeport LNG de exportaci\u00f3n de gas.<\/p>\n
A Russian hacking group may be responsible for a cyber attack against a liquefied natural gas plant in Texas that led to its\u00a0explosion on June 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n The explosion took place at the Freeport Liquefied Natural Gas (Freeport LNG) liquefaction plant and export terminal on Texas\u2019 Quintana Island. The June 8 incident will have a lasting impact on Freeport LNG\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n Preliminary investigations\u00a0suggested<\/a>\u00a0that the incident resulted from the overpressure and rupture of a segment of an LNG transfer line, leading to the rapid flashing of LNG and the release and ignition of the natural gas vapor cloud.<\/p>\n At this time it is not clear why the\u00a0safety mechanisms in place\u00a0did not prevent the explosion. Experts speculate a cyber attack may have turned off the industrial safety controls at the natural gas facility.<\/p>\n ICS malware like\u00a0TRITON<\/a>, which experts associated with Russia-linked APT group\u00a0XENOTIME<\/a>, has offensive capabilities to shut down industrial safety controls and cause extensive damages to industrial facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cOn March 24 the U.S. Department of Justice\u00a0brought\u00a0charges against four Russian nationals suspected of using TRITON malware in cyber attacks on behalf of the Russian government between 2012 and 2018. That same day, the FBI issued an\u00a0advisory\u00a0warning that TRITON malware tools still remain a major threat to industrial systems around the world.\u201d\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0the American Military News website.<\/em><\/p>\n The Washington Times national security writer Tom Rogan confirmed that the explosion at the Freeport LNG facility could be consistent with a hacking campaign conducted by APT groups like XENOTIME.<\/p>\n Rogan added that the company does have in place the Operation Technology\/Industrial Control Systems network detection systems.<\/p>\n At this time, Freeport LNG denied the theory that sees a cyber attack as the root cause of the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless Freeport LNG has OT\/ICS network detection systems deployed appropriately and has completed a forensics investigation, a cyberattack cannot be ruled out,\u201d Rogan wrote.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cTwo more sources who spoke with Rogan said that around the time of Russia launched its invasion of\u00a0Ukraine, a cyber unit of Russia\u2019s GRU military intelligence service conducted targeting-reconnaissance operations against Freeport LNG.\u201d continues the American Military News website.<\/em><\/p>\n