Petróleos de Venezuela: Cyberattack disrupts Venezuelan oil giant PDVSA's operations

Cyberattack Disrupts PDVSA’s Export Operations Amid U.S.-Venezuela Tensions

Venezuela’s state-owned oil giant, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), suffered a cyberattack over the weekend, causing disruptions to its export operations. In a statement on Monday, PDVSA claimed the incident was contained to administrative systems, insisting that operational continuity remained unaffected. The company attributed the attack to "foreign interests," specifically the U.S. government and domestic conspirators, accusing them of attempting to destabilize Venezuela’s energy sector.

Despite PDVSA’s assurances, internal documents and sources revealed a different picture. A memo obtained by Bloomberg instructed staff to disconnect from networks and power down computers, while multiple insiders confirmed that systems managing Venezuela’s primary crude terminal remained offline as of Monday. Reuters reported that cargo deliveries were halted, with one source stating, "There's no delivery, all systems are down."

The attack occurs amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and the U.S., following last week’s seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude—the first such action since PDVSA was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2019. PDVSA condemned the cyberattack as part of a broader U.S. strategy to "seize Venezuelan oil by force," framing it as an assault on the country’s sovereign energy development.

As one of the world’s largest oil producers and exporters, Venezuela’s energy infrastructure remains a critical target amid ongoing geopolitical and economic pressures. The full extent of the disruption and the attackers’ identities remain unclear.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cyberattack-disrupts-venezuelan-oil-giant-pdvsas-operations/

PDVSA Petrocedeño S.A. cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/pdvsa-petrocede-o-s.a.

"id": "PDV1765900504",
"linkid": "pdvsa-petrocede-o-s.a.",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "12/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "6",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the economy of geographical region"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Oil and gas',
                        'location': 'Venezuela',
                        'name': 'Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA)',
                        'type': 'State-owned oil company'}],
 'date_detected': '2023-10-07',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-10-09',
 'description': "Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Venezuela's state-owned oil "
                'company, was hit by a cyberattack over the weekend that '
                'disrupted its export operations. The attack was initially '
                'reported to have affected administrative systems, but '
                'internal memos and sources indicated that systems managing '
                "the country's main crude terminal were still offline, "
                'impacting cargo deliveries.',
 'impact': {'operational_impact': 'Disruption of export operations and cargo '
                                  'deliveries',
            'systems_affected': ['Administrative systems',
                                 'Crude terminal management systems']},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
 'motivation': 'Undermine national stability, seize Venezuelan oil by force',
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2023-10-09', 'source': 'Bloomberg'},
                {'date_accessed': '2023-10-09', 'source': 'Reuters'},
                {'date_accessed': '2023-10-09',
                 'source': 'PDVSA Statement (Karen Méndez)'}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public statement denying operational '
                                        'impact and blaming foreign interests',
              'containment_measures': ['Disconnection from the network',
                                       'Shutdown of computers']},
 'threat_actor': ['United States government', 'Domestic conspirators'],
 'title': 'Cyberattack on PDVSA Disrupts Export Operations',
 'type': 'Cyberattack'}