Saudi Arabia

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GPS Spoofing Forces MSC Antonia Aground in Red Sea

May 10, 2025

On 10 May 2025, Liberian‑flagged container ship MSC Antonia ran aground in the Red Sea. The ship was en route from Marsa Bashayer, Sudan, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Multiple maritime intelligence analyses have determined that the grounding was caused by deliberate GPS/GNSS interference — including spoofed and jammed signals. The interference misled the vessel’s navigation and AIS positioning systems. The Antonia remains aground as of mid‑May 2025, with efforts underway to refloat the vessel. All crew members were reported safe, with no injuries from the accident.

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Saudi Aramco Data Breach

June 23, 2021

Saudi Aramco, the state oil company of Saudi Arabia, was the focus of a $50 million data breach.
Aramco is describing the attack as an indirect release of a limited amount of company data held by third-party contractors. Saudi Aramco said there was no breach of its systems and said the attack had no impact on its operations. However, it became aware of the indirect release of a limited amount of company data which was held by third-party contractors.
A listing for the stolen data was posted on June 23.

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Computer Virus Targets Saudi Arabian Oil Company

January 1, 2012

WIZARD SPIDER is a sophisticated eCrime group that has been operating the Ryuk ransomware since August 2018, targeting large organizations for a high-ransom return. This methodology, known as “big game hunting,” signals a shift in operations for WIZARD SPIDER. This actor is a Russia-based criminal group known for the operation of the TrickBot banking malware that had focused primarily on wire fraud in the past.

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Safety Instrumented System Disabled by Triton Malware

August 1, 2017

Triton, which has been called the Worlds 1st murderous malware was discovered in 2017. In December 2017, it was reported that the safety systems of an unidentified petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia were compromised when the Triconex industrial safety technology made by Schneider Electric SE was targeted in what is believed to have been a state sponsored attack. The computer security company Symantec claimed that the malware, known as “Triton”, exploited a vulnerability in computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. The intention of Triton was to disable the safety instrumented systems, thus earning the name of the 1st murderous malware.

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