Canadian energy sector targeted by pro-Russian cybercriminals?

On June 26, 2023, Canadian oil company Suncor Energy admitted to being the victim of a cyber attack. The previous week, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s equivalent of Anssi, had reported that non-state pro-Russian cybercriminals were attempting to disrupt the Canadian energy sector. According to the CSE, these groups were acting in retaliation for Canada’s support for Ukraine.

For the moment, there is no indication of any link between this announcement and the cyber-attack on Suncor Energy. In fact, the company was very tight-lipped about the details. « At this time, we have no evidence that any customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised or misused as a result of this situation, » stated the Calgary-based company.

Suncor Energy has notified the authorities and is working with « specialized third parties » to resolve the incident and conduct an investigation. The attack is believed to have had operational consequences for the group’s Petro-Canada network of service stations, which suffered disruptions as early as June 24, 2023.

« Currently, some of our locations only accept cash and the connection to our app and Petro-Points is not available. Car washes may also not be available at some locations, » Petro-Canada stated on June 26.