Cyberattack On Saudi Oil Firm Disquiets U.S.

Suspect Named In Devastating Cyberattack On World's Most Valuable Oil Company
A computer forensic examiner looks for evidence on hard drives at the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center in Linthicum, Md., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. Hackers and hostile nations are launching increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks against U.S. defense contractors. And the Pentagon is extending a program to help protect its prime suppliers, while serving as a possible model for other government agencies. Pentagon analysts are investigating a growing number of cases involving the mishandling or removal of classified data from military and corporate systems. Defense officials say intrusions into defense networks are now close to 30 percent of the Pentagon's Cyber Crime Center's workload. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
A computer forensic examiner looks for evidence on hard drives at the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center in Linthicum, Md., Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011. Hackers and hostile nations are launching increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks against U.S. defense contractors. And the Pentagon is extending a program to help protect its prime suppliers, while serving as a possible model for other government agencies. Pentagon analysts are investigating a growing number of cases involving the mishandling or removal of classified data from military and corporate systems. Defense officials say intrusions into defense networks are now close to 30 percent of the Pentagon's Cyber Crime Center's workload. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

On Aug. 15, more than 55,000 Saudi Aramco employees stayed home from work to prepare for one of Islam's holiest nights of the year -- Lailat al Qadr, or the Night of Power -- celebrating the revelation of the Koran to Muhammad.

That morning, at 11:08, a person with privileged access to the Saudi state-owned oil company's computers, unleashed a computer virus to initiate what is regarded as among the most destructive acts of computer sabotage on a company to date. The virus erased data on three-quarters of Aramco's corporate PCs -- documents, spreadsheets, e-mails, files -- replacing all of it with an image of a burning American flag.

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