The IT Nerd

If you needed proof that ransomware is extremely dangerous and can have far reaching effects, here’s a example. Colonial Pipeline which accounts for 45% of the US East Coast’s fuel supply has had to halt their operations because of a ransomware attack. In a statement, 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. Upon learning of the issue, a leading, third-party cybersecurity firm was engaged, and they have already launched an investigation into the nature and scope of this incident, which is ongoing. We have contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies. 

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. 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 word on the street is that this is a ransomware attack.

This is a big deal. Colonial Pipeline delivers refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, home heating oil and fuel for the U.S. Military. So this is far from trivial as it is likely the price for gas and the like is about to skyrocket. And it illustrates that everybody, and I do mean everybody needs to up their game when it comes to defending themselves from this sort of attack.

This entry was posted on May 8, 2021 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Hacked. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.