**CYBER ATTACK ROCKS VENEZUELA'S STATE-OWNED OIL COMPANY PDVSA**

A devastating cyber attack has hit Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, disrupting its export operations over the weekend. The attack has sent shockwaves throughout the industry, with experts warning that it may be a sign of more to come.

According to PDVSA, the cyber attack only affected some administrative systems and did not impact operational areas. However, insiders claim that the incident was more severe than initially reported. "Thanks to the expertise of Pdvsa's human talent, operational areas were not affected in any way; the attack was limited to its administrative system," reads a statement published by the company on Telegram.

But just what exactly happened? Experts say it appears to be a ransomware attack, with PDVSA instructing employees to shut down computers, disconnect external devices, and disable WiFi and Starlink connections. Security at company facilities has also been reinforced since Sunday, according to Bloomberg. A PDVSA source told Reuters that the company detected a ransomware attack days earlier, and antivirus remediation efforts ended up disrupting the entire administrative system.

"There's no delivery (of cargoes), all systems are down," one company source told Reuters. The cyberattack occurred amid rising tensions between Venezuela and the United States, following the recent U.S. seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude, the first since OFAC sanctioned PDVSA in 2019.

PDVSA accused the U.S. and domestic collaborators of orchestrating the attack to destabilize the country, claiming it was part of a strategy to seize Venezuelan oil. The state oil company strongly rejected the alleged aggression, framing it as an attack on Venezuela's sovereign energy development.

"We categorically reject this despicable action orchestrated by foreign interests," reads PDVSA's statement on Telegram. "It must be remembered," it continues, "that this is not the first time that the United States government, allied with extremist sectors, has sought to undermine national stability and steal Christmas from the Venezuelan people."

The Venezuelan government labeled the security incident as an attempt to attack "the right to sovereign energy development." With tensions running high between Venezuela and the U.S., it remains to be seen what the long-term implications of this cyber attack will be.