A recent report by consultants EY said the number one risk facing mining and metals in 2017-18 was digital effectiveness, with cyber risk moving up to number three due to increasing digital transformation "making companies more vulnerable to the continued rogue activity in the sector".

Precision Drilling Corp CEO Kevin Neveu told the Globe and Mail that the large Canadian drilling company had detected unsuccessful "intrusion" attempts almost daily.

"We're certainly concerned that someone could hack into a drilling rig," he said.

Cyber security experts told the news outlet that hacking was organised crime and data security was more difficult to manage because the number of access points was multiplying.

Miners have been developing high-tech solutions to achieve efficiency, including global mining major Rio Tinto's (LN:RIO) goal to operate the world's first fully-autonomous heavy haul, long distance rail network, and Barrick Gold's (CN:ABX) "digital revolution" to improve operations.