WGC 2018: Energy sector accused of sleepwalking on cybersecurity
Security experts say industry is leaving the door open for hackers targeting mission-critical infrastructure
Energy firms are overlooking serious cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure due to cost-cutting measures and lax standards, according to industry experts. Speaking at World Gas Conference 2018, David Blanco, SCADA security director at software firm Autosol, said cybersecurity compliance is so poor that he expected it could take "an event where lives are lost for any regulation to be introduced" and adopted, to spur the industry into action. While not caused directly by a cyber attack, he pointed to the deadly San Bruno pipeline explosion of 2010 as an example of such an event. "Safety regulations are followed like a religion, but cybersecurity standards are voluntary and just aren'
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat






