US pipeline company halts operations after cyberattack

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WASHINGTON: A US energy company says a cyberattack forced it to temporarily halt all operations on a major pipeline that delivers roughly 45 per ...

File photo. Traffic on I-95 passes oil storage tanks owned by the Colonial Pipeline Company in Linden, New Jersey. WASHINGTON: A US energy company says a cyberattack forced it to temporarily halt all operations on a major pipeline that delivers roughly 45 per cent of all fuel consumed on the East Coast.

A company that operates a major US energy pipeline says it was forced to temporarily halt all pipeline operations following a cybersecurity attack.In a statement late Friday, Colonial Pipeline said it was “taking steps to understand and resolve this issue", focused primarily on ”the safe and efficient restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal operation".

The precise nature of the attack was unclear, including who launched it and what the motives were. A Colonial Pipeline spokeswoman declined to say whether the company had received a ransom demand, as is common in attacks from cyber criminal syndicates. Ransomware scrambles a victim organisation’s data with encryption. The criminals leave instructions on infected computers for how to negotiate ransom payments and, once paid, provide software decryption keys.

Bethune noted the shutdown is occurring at a time when energy prices have already been rising as the economy re-opens further as pandemic restrictions are lifted. According to the AAA auto club, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by four cents since Monday to US$2.94.

 

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And zero reportage in the numerous western media I've seen today. Hmmm

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