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Saudi attacks expose threat to critical infrastructure
RIYADH, Sept 16, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The strike on Saudi oil infrastructure
highlights the easy vulnerability of such facilities even as the kingdom has
splurged billions on sophisticated defence hardware.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Huthi rebels claimed responsibility for the weekend
assault, saying they sent a swarm of drones far across the border, but
Washington has squarely blamed Iran.
Here is a round-up of the nation’s key infrastructure potentially exposed
to attacks:
Oil facilities
Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest energy company, operates Ghawar and
Safaniyah, two of its biggest oil fields.
While its oil wells, scattered over a vast geographical area, may be a
difficult target, its various oil processing facilities are more exposed.
The Abqaiq facility — one of the two sites targeted on Saturday — is the
“most vulnerable” among them, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) said in a report.
The Abqaiq plant is the world’s largest oil processing facility, with a
capacity of more than seven million barrels per day, according to the
company.
Aramco’s vast system of pipelines, pumping stations and its ports along
the Persian Gulf and Red Sea are also vulnerable to potential attacks.
The Huthis claimed their drones targeted two oil pumping stations on Saudi
Arabia’s key east-west pipeline in May, shutting it down for several days.
The nation’s oil infrastructure is also vulnerable to cyber attacks.
In 2012, Aramco was among the firms hit by Shamoon, an aggressive disc-
wiping malware, in what is believed to be the country’s worst cyber attack
yet.
Desalination plants
Desalination plants provide more than 70 percent of the kingdom’s drinking
water, according to official figures.
Ras al-Khair, the world’s largest desalination plant located on the
kingdom’s Gulf coast, is an obvious target.
The kingdom’s water supply could be severely affected in the event of a
major attack on the plant.
“Cyber attacks also present a serious threat to Saudi desalination plants
like Ras al-Khair,” the CSIS report said.
Electrical grid
Saudi Arabia’s electrical grid has struggled to keep pace with the demands
of its rising population and industrial infrastructure.
An attack on the oil and gas industry could severely impact the electrical
grid as the kingdom is largely dependent on hydrocarbons as fuel for the
electricity sector.
Its network of transformers and substations are vulnerable to explosive
attacks, the CSIS report said.
The electrical system can also be disrupted by cyber attacks, it added.
Industrial control systems
Industrial control interfaces that help regulate large-scale
infrastructure such as gas pipelines, transportation systems and power
transmission networks are also potentially at risk, the CSIS report said.
“All of these components may be vulnerable to attack by direct human
interference such as the deployment of malware in the master unit or by poor
design or configuration, which opens up the system to remote cyber
exploitation,” the report said.
BSS/AFP/RY/1902 hrs