In a statement, Colonial Pipeline Co. said the attack took place Friday and also affected some of its information technology systems. The company describes itself as operating the largest refined products pipeline in the United States, transporting roughly 45% of all fuel, including gasoline, diesel fuel and home heating oil, that is consumed on the East Coast.
“Colonial Pipeline is taking steps to understand and resolve this issue,” the company said in a statement late Friday. “At this time, our primary focus is the safe and efficient restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal operation. 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.
“The attacks were extremely sophisticated and they were able to defeat some pretty sophisticated security controls, or the right degree of security controls weren’t in place,” Chapple said. The FBI and the White House’s National Security Council did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The federal Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency referred questions about the incident to the company.
This is what cyberwarfare is like.