When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded into flames on an April day in 2010, it led to the loss of 11 lives, the drilling rig itself, and tens of billions of dollars for oil giant BP.
In fact, in early 2018, BP announced its Deepwater Horizon costs have soared to $65 billion. Recent settlements (which are ongoing) have been seven times higher than expected.
Now a new insurance industry report on cybersecurity in the engery sector asks a chilling question:
"Could we soon see the losses from a cyber-attack equal to that of one of industry’s biggest losses, such as... Deepwater Horizon?"
The energy sector is unique, and a cyber attack presents several challenges and potential losses as industrial control systems used throughout the energy creation and distribution process become increasingly connected to the outside world.
Potential cyber attack losses and disruptions include:
Something that makes the energy sector different than most is the fact that nearly 22% of executives feared the physical damage a cyber attack could cause. That's already happened in electric utility hacks.
The new Marsh report is called Could Energy Industry Dynamics Be Creating an Impending Cyber Storm?, and its related survey of executives in the energy sector found some disturbing results:
"Despite more than half of energy executives naming cyber as a top-five risk, more than half (54%) of energy executives have not quantified or did not know what their worst possible loss exposures could be."
The study's bright spot includes this: 77% of executives surveyed say their companies will "increase levels of investment in cyber risk management."
Hopefully these efforts will be in time to prevent a cyber attack that could rival the impact or cost of a tragedy like the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
And not just the impact on company products, but also the impact on consumers and companies around the globe who depend on the energy sector to always provide what they need.
Image: Wikipedia, public domain photo