Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) is working to restore normal operations after a sophisticated cyberattack disrupted its IT systems for a second consecutive day, leaving parts of the company’s financial functions inaccessible.
According to sources, hackers penetrated PPL’s network earlier this week, taking control of key servers and encrypting data. The attackers—operating under the name “Blue Locker”—have allegedly demanded ransom, threatening to leak sensitive corporate and employee information if their conditions are not met.
Internal communications indicate that access to backups has been blocked, complicating recovery efforts. In a warning sent to company officials, the hackers cautioned against any independent attempts to retrieve the data, claiming such action could result in irreversible damage.
PPL confirmed that a “cybersecurity incident” occurred on August 6 and that some non-essential systems were taken offline as a precaution. The company stressed that its primary oil and gas production operations remain unaffected, and there is no evidence so far of a breach in critical data.
The incident has been reported to relevant government and security agencies, and forensic specialists have been brought in to investigate the breach. The attack has also raised concerns among industry insiders about the security preparedness of Pakistan’s energy sector against increasingly aggressive cyber threats.
