Cyber Threat

 

Friday 7th saw the unexpected closure of the 8,851km Colonial Pipeline linking US Gulf Coast (USG) PADD3 refineries with PADD 1 facilities along the Atlantic coast following a cyber-attack. With an average capacity of 2.5mbpd it supplies 45% of US East Coast fuel demand but suffered a ransomware attack shutting down internal computer networks. According to Bloomberg, Colonial is believed to have paid a $5m ransom in cryptocurrency.  As of Wednesday 13th, operations have restarted but a full return to normal could take a week or more. This has raised serious concerns about the state of cyber defences guarding aging US energy infrastructure as well as in other countries given the increasing nature of such attacks.
 

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Xinde Marine News.