Oil and Gas Cyber Security

The oil and gas sector is rapidly evolving to meet increased demand by expanding asset portfolios and updating infrastructure. To support these industry changes, technology is advancing and infrastructural processes are being transformed - improved interconnectivity between business systems and networks within the oil and gas infrastructure setting are enhancing operations, but also exposing new avenues for system threats and vulnerabilities. Cyber attacks in the oil and gas industry can have detrimental effects on process control networks and related systems which could destabilise supply capabilities, endanger personnel and result in environmental damage. New vulnerabilities have been introduced with the migration to IT components such as general-purpose computing platforms, standard operating systems, in addition to the introduction of networking technology like TCP/IP & Ethernet in the SCADA environment and integration of business and process control networks.

Furthermore, cyber security incidents worldwide are increasing daily and one of the most vulnerable sectors is oil and gas where over 2 million threats of varying complexity are experienced weekly. Cyber criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, highly organised and constantly inventing ways to bypass traditional defences such as anti-virus and firewalls. With such attacks increasing in frequency and sophistication, oil and gas companies are faced with an urgent need to protect their highly valuable intellectual property and commercially sensitive information. Against this backdrop, oil and gas companies now are heavily investing in establishing the most comprehensive security systems for their assets and digital infrastructures, with spending set to reach $1.87 billion by 2018. Managing security of networks and wireless communication systems, as well as defending IT infrastructure from external virus attacks and internal compatibility threats is a top priority.

SMi's 4th Oil and Gas Cyber Security conference will address the most pressing cyber security issues facing the oil and gas sector with key presentations delivered by senior industry figures from Total, GDF Suez, Salalah Methanol Company, Tullow Oil, Cairn India, and Saudi Aramco among others. The two-day programme will build on the success of the 2013 event by discussing recent efforts to bolster protection of highly valuable intellectual property and commercially sensitive information on production, exploration plans and assets through project updates, case studies, live demonstrations, technology sessions, panel debates and networking opportunities.