Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security, the BSI, stated that hacker group Anonymous had targeted multiple units of Rosneft, causing the Russian oil company to take its systems offline.
Anonymous released a statement claiming credit for the hack and saying that 20 gigabytes of data had been taken.
Prosecutors in Berlin have begun an investigation, according to a story in Der Spiegel magazine.
Rosneft is reportedly responsible for about a quarter of all crude oil imports to Germany and maintains holdings in three refineries in the nation. Its chief executive, Igor Sechin, is a strong association with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is chairman of the board of directors.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the BSI advised earlier this month of an increased danger of cyberattacks and an “enhanced threat environment for Germany,” encouraging enterprises to tighten their IT security measures.
