Abadan's Refinery: Was targeted cyber-attack?

Abadan's Refinery: Was targeted cyber-attack?

There was a lot of analysis in the information security social media about the targeted attack against Abdan Refinery in IRAN. in a very briefing, analysis let us introduce some facts

1- Abdan refinery have been a victim for fire incidents in both 2017 and 2018

2- Workers have started protesting in early of 2019

3- It could be a reaction to the latest tensions in the gulf sea

Which keep the case not confirmed of targeted cyber-attack but went to be normal fire incident or ungranulated protesting 

Timeline Analysis:

- 07 Feb 2017 Abadan Refinery PR Manager said: The newly arrived Orhal was in the process of preparing to enter the production circuit, which was set on fire in a line due to a leak on Tuesday evening.

- 21 Aug 2017 These Billions in Deals Can Help Iran Counter Trump

China's Sinopec reached a $1.2 billion agreement with National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co. on development of Phase 1 of the Abadan refinery in the southwest province of Khuzestan.

- 13 Dec 2017 The Beijing-based firm is committed to expanding Abadan Oil Refinery, Iran's oldest crude processing facility, in an investment worth around $3 billion.

- 28 Jun 2018 the damage to the plant at Abadan had no impact on oil exports from Iran, the world's fifth-biggest exporter, as it is involved in producing gasoline and some other fuels, not the production of crude.

- 17 Mar 2019 Workers at the central workshop of the Abadan refinery demanded a job classification scheme on the sixth day of their protest.

- 25 Aug 2019 Even before the Abadan oil and gas discovery was announced, the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and the National Iranian Oil Engineering & Construction Company (NIOEC) were making progress on the US$1.06 billion upgrade of the 420,000+ bpd capacity Abadan refinery, Iran's oldest and largest.

- 25 Aug 2019 Will China, Russia Defy U.S. Sanctions to Fund Iranian Oil Projects?

Even before the Abadan oil and gas discovery was announced, the China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and the National Iranian Oil Engineering & Construction Company (NIOEC) were making progress on the US$1.06 billion upgrades of the 420,000+ bpd capacity Abadan refinery, Iran's oldest and largest.

- 17 Sep 2019 A missile strike on Abadan Refinery would be an appropriate response from "Saudi Arabia". I'm sure they are expecting the incoming, at this point, so tact is the key!

- 20 Oct 2019 Abadan said this morning in the direction of Abadan refinery pipelines refinery ... Head of Public Relations said that now the problem has cleared, not to harm anyone, and not any abnormality in refinery production will continue as usual 

Conclusion: 

To answer the question of was Abadan Refinery Cyber-attack or not there are some points could tend to cyber-attacks which can be summarized in the US reactions against Iran issues and in the sometimes targeting China investment in Iranian’s energy and gas industries but on the other side the assumption of the incident was normal fire as it happened two crimes before in 2017 and 2018 or due to ungranulated insider still valid scenarios.