Cyberattacks on Russian oil and gas companies in March caused no major damage - energy minister

MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax) - Cyberattacks targeting several major Russian oil and gas companies in March caused no significant damage, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev told reporters at the Positive Hack Days 25 festival.

"We were aware of these threats, and the energy sector prepared accordingly. Some of our companies employ up to 10,000 IT specialists. These threats were assessed and accounted for, and due to extensive preparations, the incidents that occurred caused no major damage or serious consequences," Tsivilev said.

"We've concluded that cyber threats are evolving rapidly, becoming more large-scale, with attackers increasingly collaborating. This represents a next-level challenge we must prepare for," he said.

"The energy sector endured one of the strongest attacks from our counterparts abroad and demonstrated very good results," the co-founder of the Cyberus cybersecurity development fund Yury Maximov said. "The energy industry is currently pioneering the rethinking of its approaches to countering these threats," he said.