Hamburg, a major port part of northern Germany, was targeted by the cyberattack, as were at least six oil ports in Belgium and the Netherlands. Prosecutors in Belgium have opened an inquiry into the theft of oil supplies in the country's marine entryways, particlarly Antwerp which also happens to be Europe's second-largest port after Rotterdam.
Prosecutors in Germany are said to be looking into a cyberattack on oil facilities which are described as a probable ransomware attack, wherein hackers demand money in exchange for reopening captured networks.
Last month, oil prices reached a seven-year high amid geopolitical tensions with Russia, and rising energy costs are fueling an increase in costs which has alarmed European authorities.
"A cyberattack was launched against several terminals, causing significant disruption. The software has been taken over, which is unable to process barges. The operating system is basically down "Jelle Vreeman, a senior trader at Riverlake in Rotterdam, echoed this sentiment.
Europol, the EU's police agency, confirmed the information of the events in Germany had given assistance to authorities. "At this time, the investigation is underway and in a critical stage," said Claire Georges, a spokesman for Europol.
Last week, the first signs of what looks to be a complex cyberattack were revealed in Germany; on January 29, Oiltranking Group and Mabanaft were found to be the victims of a cyber-attack.
Belgian authorities were also looking into the incident, which impacted terminals in Ghent and Antwerp-Zeebrugge. In Amsterdam, Ghent, Antwerp, SEA-Tank, Oiltanking, and Evos are all reporting faults with the operating systems.
Oiltanking Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, a company that stores and delivers oil, motor fuels, and other petroleum products, announced its website was being hacked.
According to the company, it was compelled to function at "restricted efficiency" and was conducting an investigation. The intrusion on Oiltanking was caused by ransomware, which encrypts data and renders computer systems is useless until a ransom is paid.
Following a ransomware attack on US oil distributor Colonial Pipeline in May of last year, supplies were tightened across the US, prompting various states to declare an emergency.
However, cyber-security experts warn against assuming many events are part of a coordinated campaign to destabilize the European energy industry.
"Some varieties of malware harvest emails and contact information and use it to actively spam dangerous attachments or links," said Brett Callow, Threat Researcher at cyber-security firm Emsisoft. While investigating the degree of the infiltration, the organizations report taking steps to rectify the situation and strengthen the network.
