US oil giant Halliburton is investigating a ‘problem’, reportedly a cyber attack, that has disrupted a number of company operations and global networks.

While the energy giant declined to call it a cyberattack, a Halliburton spokesperson said The register that work was being done to resolve the problem.

“We are aware of an issue affecting certain company systems and are working diligently to assess the root cause and potential impact,” a Halliburton spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We have activated our pre-planned response plan and are working internally and with leading third-party experts to resolve the issue.”

However, a source familiar with the disruption told Reuters that the world’s second-largest oil company was the victim of a cyberattack, saying the digital breach affected operations at Halliburton’s North Houston campus as well as some of its global connectivity networks.

According to reports on social media, the payroll and employee devices have been hacked.

Update: It has been reported that Halliburton employees are receiving robocalls with explicit instructions not to connect to the network at all. Unsubstantiated, but from a reliable source, the IT department is attempting to set up a Protected System for critical infrastructure.

— Na’linda (@MzBlckSheep) August 21, 2024

Halliburton’s spokesman declined to comment The registerspecific questions about the incident, such as whether it was a ransomware infection.

Criminals are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure sectors, including energy, with extortion attacks, law enforcement said. Last year, the FBI received 1,193 complaints from critical infrastructure organizations hit by ransomware, a 37 percent increase from 870 in 2022.

And of the 395 ransomware attacks claimed by criminals last month, more than a third (125, or 34 percent) targeted critical industrial organizations, according to a report published today by NCC Group.