Three Saudi Aramco computer maintenance contractors have been jailed for stealing and leaking confidential information from Saudi Aramco facilities. One of the convicted men was an employee of a computer maintenance company under Saudi Aramco contract; the other two men were his assistants. They stole company hard drives containing sensitive information, including the hard drive of an American engineer and a laptop computer belonging to a Saudi Aramco hospital employee.
Saudi Arabia, recognizing that its core industry is vulnerable to cyber attack and other forms of espionage, has imposed strict penalties on the contractors. This latest incident is not thought to be connected to the August 2012 Shamoon virus attack – aimed to steal information – which infected about 30,000 workstations at Saudi Aramco. The firm has not published the extent of the damage incurred by the 2012 attack, though it is likely to have been far reaching in its scope. (CONTINUED - 270 WORDS)
