Canada's energy industry marred with cyber attacks

Several major players in Canada's energy industry have been hit by a cyber attack and the authorities have been planning to take actions to address the situation.

Public Safety Canada, a federal agency responsible for monitoring cyber threats and co-ordinating the country’s response, has acknowledged that it is aware of the attack and is taking steps to address the issue. The Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) is aware of the situation is already working government and private sector players to take appropriate action.

Public Safety Canada spokesman Jean Paul Duval said in a statement, "While we cannot comment more specifically, for operational reasons, we can tell you that the Government of Canada is working to protect Canada's cyber networks, identify vulnerabilities and intrusions and to defend against malicious cyber activity."

Telvent Canada, which manages more than half of all oil and gas pipelines in North America and Latin America, has confirmed that there has been a cyber attack on its systems. The company did not announce more details but only said that customer files had been impacted in the attack.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has said that it is not aware as to who was impacted in the attack but said that it works continuously with member companies to improve safety on their systems.