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The Cyber Attack on Saudi Aramco
Abstract
On 15 August 2012, the computer network of Saudi Aramco was struck by a self-replicating virus that infected as many as 30,000 of its Windowsbased machines. Despite its vast resources as Saudi Arab...
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“However, the security aspect of ICS and SCADA systems was not considered a global issue until the discovery of the Stuxnet worm, developed in 2010 with the specific purpose of targeting ICS [170], and the Shamoon virus, responsible for the attack on Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, caused disruption on global energy market [171].”
From SCADA Systems With Focus on Continuous Manufacturing and Steel Industry: A Survey on Architectures, Standards, Challenges and Industry 5.0 (2022) · cites this paper as [170]
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Items 101–160 of 160
An Investigation of the Most Critical Security Vulnerabilities in Cloud Computing in Saudi Arabia
Ghazzawi, A. M., Alqahtani, F. M., Alotaibi, F. S., et al. (2017) · Journal of Advances in Information Technology · doi:10.12720/jait.8.3.165-171 · Cited by 2
“[2] C. Bronk and E. Tikk-Ringas, “The cyber attack on saudi Aramco,” Survival, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 81-96, 2013.”
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“These political, economic and cultural factors played out in scenarios such as Project Chanology [7], the Stuxnet Attack on Iranian nuclear facilities [9], the Edward Snowden incident [10], the attack on Saudi Aramco [11], [12].”
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“Q5’s answer: Most SA IT members believe that their storage systems are protected against cyber-attacks, with the exception of the virus attack against the SA system in August 2012 that affected about 30,000 workstations [3].”
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Ikwu, R. (2019) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1906.03757 · Cited by 3
“Similarly, Bronk and Tikk-Ringas [28] explains how events in the oil and gas sector affect the propagation of cyber incidents.”
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“In a more recent case in 2021, a cyber-intrusion at a water purification facility in Oldsmar, Florida served as a reminder that the water infrastructure is also not impervious to such attacks [10].”
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Bronk, C. (2024) · Applied Cybersecurity & Internet Governance · doi:10.60097/acig/190263 · Cited by 1
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Anastasakis, K., & Rashid, A. (2024) · doi:10.1145/3690134.3694827 · Cited by 1
“For instance, a disk-wiping malware rendered over 30,000 computers of a state-owned company useless but without disrupting their OT operations [4].”
Sayghe, A. (2025) · The Journal of Engineering · doi:10.1049/tje2.70142 · Cited by 1
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“Shamoon (2013) [2] Highly targeted and widespread attack in far space on the critical infrastructure of Saudi Aramco by means of a self-replicating virus that deleted data and rendered computers unusable.”
“Norm Subsidiarity” or “Norm Diffusion”?
Ali, H. M. (2021) · The Journal of Intelligence Conflict and Warfare · doi:10.21810/jicw.v4i1.2805 · Cited by 1
“According to Bronk and Tikk-Ringas (2013), these domestic cybersecurity laws breach internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression.”
BackgroundZettl-Schabath, K. (2021) · Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung · doi:10.1007/s42597-021-00064-2 · Cited by 2
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Almalki, O., Duan, Y., Frommholz, I., & Haag, M. (2013) · University of Bedfordshire Repository (University of Bedfordshire)
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Frehse, G., & Althoff, M. (2017) · Institute of Science and Technology Austria
Allodi, L., & Etalle, S. (2018) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1801.04569
“…attackers will largely disregard phase-two attacks (which quickly lose of appeal as too many resources and time likely need be dedicated to complete the second phase), and focus instead on standard internet-facing systems, which appears indeed to be the case for most attacks of this type [15, 42].”
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“A self-replicating virus ( Shamoon ) infected more than 30,000 devices of Saudi Aramco on 15 August 2012 which caused huge interruption to the world's biggest oil producer [36].”
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Tari, Z., Khalil, I., Almalawi, A., Fahad, A., Zomaya, A. Y., Mahmood, A. N., & Queiroz, C. (2016) · Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering · doi:10.1002/047134608x.w8319
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Almalawi, A., Tari, Z., Fahad, A., & Yi, X. (2020) · doi:10.1002/9781119606383.refs
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“In recent years, incidents of cyber attacks against ICS have been frequently reported [3], [4].”
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Goel, P., Sakti, J., Torbay, R., & Johnson, R. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6278638
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“For example, there is the 2012 attack on Saudi Aramco’s computer network by a virus known as “Shamoon,” for which an organization called “Cutting Sword of Justice” and an anti-oppression group publicly claimed responsibility, with their statements suggesting Iran as the sponsor [9, p. 81 and 88].”
Mohiya, M. S. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0349656
“Bronk and Tikk-Ringas [37] analyzed the 2012 Shamoon cyberattack on Saudi Aramco, documenting how the compromise of approximately 30,000 corporate workstations exposed the strategic vulnerability of Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure, but offering limited insight into employee behavioral…”
Metadata
- Authors
- Bronk, C., & Tikk-Ringas, E.
- Venue
- Survival
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-04-03
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 81-96
- ISSN
- 0039-6338 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-2699
- OpenAlex
- W2074548145
- Cited by
- 160
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 45.08
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Survival (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information and Cyber Security
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
- Keywords
- ransomware, oil and gas industry, critical infrastructure security, corporate network security
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