What happened

Attackers deployed malware known as Triton, Trisis or HatMan against Schneider Electric Triconex safety instrumented systems at a Saudi petrochemical plant, attempting to reprogram the controllers that provide the last line of automated protection against dangerous plant conditions. A coding error tripped the plant into a safe shutdown in August 2017, leading to discovery. It was the first publicly known malware designed specifically to target industrial safety systems, a capability security researchers class as potentially lethal. The plant is widely identified in press reporting as Petro Rabigh; the marker is placed at the Rabigh complex.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.