Sept 15 (Reuters) – Shell Ltd (SHEL.L) on Friday announced a cyber security incident in which some employees who worked at its Australian unit BG Group before the merger became the latest victims of the MOVEit hack. announced that it had been identified.
Recently, many companies around the world have been affected by the cybersecurity breach of MOVEit, a software tool typically used to transfer large amounts of sensitive data such as pension information and social security numbers.
Shell said it had identified that some personal information relating to affected individuals had been accessed without authorization and had attempted to notify them of the breach.
“While the data is from 2013 and is historical and may be partially outdated, it does pose a risk of being targeted by identity theft and phishing campaigns,” Shell said in a statement.
Shell did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment to clarify the exact number of people affected by the cybersecurity incident.
The incident is the latest in a series of security breaches within Australian businesses since late last year, prompting the government to reform cybersecurity rules and change the body that oversees government investment in the sector. This led to its establishment.
IG Markets analyst Hebe Chen told Reuters the incident once again highlighted one of the weakest links in Australia’s business ecosystem.
“This not only exposes the weak safeguards that were in place, but also raises questions about the effectiveness of the Australian government’s national cybersecurity strategy,” Chen added.
The company completed its $70 billion acquisition of BG Group Plc in 2016, bringing multiple oil and gas projects into its portfolio across countries such as Brazil and Australia.
Reporting by Roushni Nair and Navya Mittal in Bengaluru.Editing: Shailesh Kuber
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