Hackers steal data from 3,300 Ecopetrol accounts, demand ransom
Hackers stole data from about 3,300 user accounts across Ecopetrol and 14 of its subsidiaries and attempted to deploy ransomware. Ecopetrol says its cybersecurity controls blocked the encryption and it found no disruption to critical operations. The attackers are now demanding a
Ecopetrol, Colombia's largest company and one of Latin America's main integrated energy producers, disclosed that an unidentified external actor gained unauthorized access to digital resources across the company and about 14 of its subsidiaries. The attacker downloaded data from roughly 3,300 user accounts and attempted to deploy ransomware, but Ecopetrol's cybersecurity controls blocked the encryption. The hackers have issued extortion demands, threatening to publish the stolen information. Ecopetrol says it has not identified material disruption to critical operations, production capacity, or essential services, and the stolen data has not yet been published. The company revoked the attackers' access, blocked further downloads, launched an investigation, and notified Colombian authorities.