“On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline company learned that it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack“, the group said in a statement.
“We took some of our systems offline as a precaution to contain the threat, which temporarily halted all pipeline operations and affected some of our IT systems.“, adds the company.
Colonial Pipeline operates a network of pipelines stretching from refineries on the Gulf Coast around Houston, Texas, to the northeastern United States in the New York area.
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The group says it has hired a cybersecurity company “leading“to resolve the issue and initiated an investigation into the nature and extent of this incident.”We contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies“, continues Colonial Pipeline.
The group clarified on Saturday that the incident involved a “ransomware“or ransomware, code that exploits security holes to encrypt computer systems and demand ransom to unblock them.
“For now, our main goal is the safe and efficient restoration of our services to return to normal operation.“, added Colonial Pipeline which says”work diligently to resolve this issue and minimize disruption“.
Colonial Pipeline is the largest operator of refined products pipelines in the United States, transporting more than 380 million liters of fuel oil daily to the northeast of the country. This company transports almost 45% of the fuels consumed on the American East Coast.
CISA, the US Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency, is “in contact with the company and other partners within the institutions in this matter“, deputy director Eric Goldstein told AFP, according to a spokesperson.
L’incident “highlights the threat of ransomware (“ransomwares”) for organizations, regardless of their size or the sector in which they operate“, added the head of the CISA in an email.
“We encourage every organization to take steps to strengthen their cybersecurity to reduce their exposure to such threats.“, he said.
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According to Andy Lipow, an oil market specialist and chairman of consultancy firm Lipow Oil Associates, “the most affected region will be Baltimore-Washington as well as the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama“.
“It is therefore not a problem that affects the whole country but rather the mid-Atlantic region and part of the south-east.“, he told AFP.
“The impact will depend on how long it lasts. The pipeline delivers refined products every five days“, explained Mr. Lipow.
“If the pipeline is closed for a day or two, that’s a minor problem. If it remains out of service for four or five days, we will have shortages in the terminals which will begin to affect service stations.“, he added.
Not to mention the airports. Beyond four to five days, airports in Baltimore, Atlanta, Charlotte or even Nashville will have to decide how to supply kerosene so that airlines can keep their flight schedules, Mr. Lipow said.
Several computer attacks have rocked the United States in recent months, including the massive hack of SolarWinds, an IT management software publisher, which compromised thousands of US government computer networks. The Biden administration accused Russia of being responsible, which led to financial sanctions against Moscow and the expulsion of diplomats.
“If Sunday night, when the oil futures market reopens, the pipeline is still closed, the price per barrel will go up 3 to 5 cents“, said Mr. Lipow.
Friday, the US barrel of WTI for the month of June, had gained 0.29%, to 64.90 dollars while some operators had already heard of technical problems at Colonial Pipeline.vmt / uh
