This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates as more information becomes available.
On Friday night, the largest U.S. gas pipeline announced it had halted its operations after it discovered it was targeted in a cyber attack. The pipeline provides about 45 percent of the fuel supply along the east coast and southern United States.
In a company statement Friday night, Colonial Pipeline said, “On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack. In response, we proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations, and affected some of our IT systems.”
According to Bloomberg, Colonial Pipeline operates the largest gasoline and diesel pipeline system in the U.S.
CNBC reported the company transports 2.5 million barrels of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products every day, accounting for about 45 percent of the east coast’s fuel supply. That fuel passes through 5,500 miles of pipelines. The pipeline network moves fuel from U.S. gulf coast refineries to populous areas along the eastern and southern United States.
The company announced it has hired a cybersecurity firm to investigate the cyberattack and have contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies.
The New York Times reported the FBI typically leads investigations of this nature, but critical infrastructure also falls under the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
The company has not indicated who may have been behind the cyber attack.
“Colonial Pipeline is taking steps to understand and resolve this issue. At this time, our primary focus is the safe and efficient restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal operation,” the company said. “This process is already underway, and we are working diligently to address this matter and to minimize disruption to our customers and those who rely on Colonial Pipeline.”
0 comments :
Post a Comment