The Colonial Pipeline, one of America’s most important oil pipelines, is being returned to service after the company behind the pipeline was hit by ransomware last week. It will take a few more days for the pipeline to be fully operational.
“Some markets served by the Colonial Pipeline will still experience delivery problems in the coming days. We will try to deliver as much fuel as possible in a safe way until the markets have recovered, ”said a statement from the Colonial Pipeline Company, the company that operates the pipeline.
The company behind the major US oil pipeline was hit by a cyber attack on Friday in which ransomware was installed by hackers on the company’s financial systems. In response to the attack, it was decided to shut down parts of the ICT system, which also brought the pipeline’s activities to a temporary halt. Parts of the ICT systems were restarted from Monday. Yesterday afternoon around 5 pm, the company issued a statement that it will be able to systematically resume fuel deliveries. According to American media , the company has not paid a ransom to regain access to its systems and data.
According to the American intelligence agency FBI, the Russian hacker collective DarkSide is behind the attack. In a statement, US President Joe Biden stated that there is currently no evidence that the Russian government is involved in the attack.
The Colonial Pipeline runs from Texas via the East Coast of the United States to the state of New Jersey and spans approximately 8850 kilometers. The oil pipeline carries 2.5 million barrels of oil every day and is an important part of the energy infrastructure in the United States. The pipeline supplies nearly half of the US East Coast with fossil fuels for commercial, professional and military purposes.
