Gas Cyber Attack

Vancouver WA

Description

On May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline, an American oil pipeline system that originates in Houston, Texas, and carries gasoline and jet fuel mainly to the Southeastern United States, suffered a ransomware cyberattack that impacted computerized equipment managing the pipeline. Date: May 6, 2021 (data stolen), May 7, 2021 (malware attack), May 12, 2021 (pipeline restarted) Location: United States Target: Colonial Pipeline Type: Cyberattack, data breach, ransomware Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_Pipeline_ransomware_atta So far, intelligence officials said, all of the indications are that it was simply an act of extortion by the group, which first began to deploy such ransomware last August and is believed to operate from Eastern Europe, possibly Russia. There was some evidence, even in the group’s own statements on Monday, that suggested the group had intended simply to extort money from the company, and was surprised that it ended up cutting off the main gasoline and jet fuel supplies for the Eastern Seaboard. The attack exposed the remarkable vulnerability of a key conduit for energy in the United States as hackers become more brazen in taking on critical infrastructure, like electric grids, pipelines, hospitals and water treatment facilities. The city governments of Atlanta and New Orleans, and, in recent weeks, the Washington, D.C., Police Department, have also been hit.