CEO of pipeline company crippled by cyberattack warns of potential fuel shortages: report
The CEO of the company whose pipeline was crippled by a cyberattack warned Monday of potential supply shortages in the Southeastern U.S., even as it works to reopen the line and remove the ransomware.
While Colonial Pipeline Co. is working out a complex plan to restart operations, CEO Joseph Blount said in a private meeting Monday, they needed to remove the ransomware before resuming shipments, reported Bloomberg News.
He spoke in a virtual meeting that included Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary David Turk, Bloomberg said, citing someone familiar with the 18-minute discussion. The company did not immediately comment but issued a statement a short time later.
“Restoring our network to normal operations is a process that requires the diligent remediation of our systems, and this takes time,” Colonial said in a statement Monday evening. “In response to the cybersecurity attack on our system, we proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which temporarily halted all pipeline operations, and affected some of our IT systems. To restore service, we must work to ensure that each of these systems can be brought back online safely.”
This, the company said, was being done in a “phased approach” in coordination with federal officials.
As lines began forming at gas stations in parts of the Southeast, the company was evaluating product inventory in storage tanks throughout its system and facilities, Colonial said.
The attack sent ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure, The Associated Press noted. The 5,500-mile-long Colonial Pipeline delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard, pumping upwards of 100 million gallons of fuel (2.5 million barrels) daily from Houston to the New York Harbor, according to Market Watch. It has been shut down since Friday.
The shutdown could affect millions of consumers, AP reported. The FBI has fingered an outfit calling itself DarkSide, seemingly composed of veteran cybercriminals, though the group itself was only recently formed, according to Reuters.
The criminal hackers call themselves apolitical and said Monday that they only meant to extort money.
“Our goal is to make money and not creating problems for society,” the group said on its website, according to BBC News. “We do not participate in geopolitics, do not need to tie us with a defined government and look for... our motives.”
Colonial’s main pipelines are still offline, and service is resuming piecemeal in smaller lines, the company said.
“Our primary focus continues to be the safe and efficient restoration of service to our pipeline system, while minimizing disruption to our customers and all those who rely on Colonial Pipeline,” the company said. “We appreciate the patience of the traveling public and the support we have received from the Federal Government and our peers throughout the industry.”
With News Wire Services
