Researchers Report Lotus Wiper Attacks Targeting Venezuela’s Energy Sector
Summary
Kaspersky researchers report that Lotus Wiper, a destructive malware targeting Venezuela’s energy and utilities sector, erases data across physical drives. The affected organizations and actor are unknown; researchers found no confirmed link to the PDVSA incident.
Key points
- Kaspersky researchers say the previously unknown Lotus Wiper was used in activity targeting Venezuela’s energy and utilities sector; affected organizations were not identified.
- The wiper erases data across physical drives and deletes files throughout system storage, which researchers say can make affected machines impossible to restore.
- The attackers focused on older Windows systems, which researchers say may indicate prior knowledge of the targeted networks and possible access before the destructive activity.
- The malware was compiled in late September 2025; a campaign-related sample was uploaded to a public malware repository from a computer in Venezuela in mid-December.
- No threat actor has been identified, and researchers found no evidence linking Lotus Wiper to the cyberattack on state-run oil company PDVSA.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Destructive wiper malware campaign targeting Venezuela’s energy and utilities sector.
- Impact
- Lotus Wiper erases data across physical drives and deletes files throughout affected systems, potentially leaving machines irrecoverable. The affected organizations were not identified. The article reports no confirmed link between Lotus Wiper and the cyberattack on PDVSA; PDVSA blamed the United States for that separate intrusion, but cybersecurity experts found no evidence linking it to the U.S. government.
MITRE ATT&CK
Malware
Products
Countries
United StatesPDVSA publicly blamed the United States for the intrusion, citing Washington’s increased military presence around Venezuela and its long-running effort to pressure President Nicolás Maduro from power.VenezuelaResearchers found a previously unknown destructive wiper, dubbed Lotus Wiper, was deployed against Venezuela’s energy and utilities sector in an attack designed to destroy systems.
Industries
EnergyResearchers found a previously unknown destructive wiper, dubbed Lotus Wiper, was deployed against Venezuela’s energy and utilities sector in an attack designed to destroy systems.UtilitiesResearchers found a previously unknown destructive wiper, dubbed Lotus Wiper, was deployed against Venezuela’s energy and utilities sector in an attack designed to destroy systems.