Colombian State Energy Firm Hacked, Data of 3,300 Accounts Stolen

Colombia’s state-owned energy company, Ecopetrol, has disclosed that a cyberattack led to the theft of data connected to approximately 3,300 user accounts. The company stated it has not yet been able to identify the perpetrators of the attack. However, the hackers have issued extortion demands and threatened to publish the information they managed to steal. The data breach affected a cloud-based file storage environment belonging to 15 subsidiaries, including Ecopetrol itself. The company said it has so far managed to prevent a ransomware attack. Ecopetrol noted that, as of Friday, it had not found any critical disruption to its operations or production capacity, nor any direct financial impact from the incident. Nevertheless, the company warned that the breach could potentially have a material adverse effect on its business, reputation, operational results, or financial condition.