Ransomware attack shuts down U.S.'s largest gasoline pipeline

Sinopec News Net, according to a report on the World Petroleum website on May 9th, the Colonial Pipeline Company, the largest gasoline pipeline operator in the United States, closed its operations late on Friday after a previous ransomware attack may disrupt the energy market and disrupt the East Coast.

Colonier Pipeline said in a statement on Saturday that it took the initiative to take certain systems offline to contain the threat.

Network security company FireEye said its response department is assisting in the investigation.

The pipeline is an important arterial road in the eastern half of the United States.

Allan Liska, a senior threat analyst at the network security company Recorded Future, said that the attack appeared to use a ransomware organization called "Dark".

The growing threat of hacking attacks on critical infrastructure prompted the White House to unveil a plan last month to try to strengthen the security of utilities and their suppliers.

The latest attack occurred as the U.

A White House spokesperson said that the federal government is evaluating the impact of the incident, including how to avoid supply disruptions and help the company resume operations as soon as possible.

　　The US Department of Energy stated that it is monitoring any possible supply impacts, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission stated that after the cyber attack, it is communicating with other federal agencies and working closely with them to monitor developments.

　　The federal government also cooperates with state and local authorities to develop possible additional measures.

　　Wang Lei, translated from World Petroleum

　　The original text is as follows:

　　Ransomware attack shuts down biggest US gasoline pipeline

　　The operator of the biggest gasoline pipeline in the US shut down operations late Friday following a ransomware attack that threatens to roil energy markets and upend the supply of gas and diesel to the East Coast.

　　Colonial Pipeline said in a statement Saturday that it “proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations, and affected some of our IT systems.

　　The cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc.

　　Colonial is a key artery for the eastern half of the US It's the main source of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the East Coast with capacity of about 2.

　　The attack appeared to use a ransomware group called DarkSide, according to Allan Liska, senior threat analyst at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

　　Hacking threats to critical infrastructure have been growing, prompting the White House to respond last month with a plan to try to increase the security of utilities and their suppliers.

　　The latest attack comes as the nation's energy industry gears up for summer travel and stronger fuel demand as pandemic economic restrictions are eased.
It's also an unpleasant reminder of how a cyber-attack brought down the communications systems of several US natural gas pipelines operators in 2018 .

　　The federal government is assessing the implications of the incident, including how to avoid disruptions to supply and help the company restore operations as quickly as possible, a White House spokesperson said.

　　The US Department of Energy said it's “monitoring any potential impacts” to supplies, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it's in “communication with other federal agencies, and we are working closely with them to monitor developments” following the cyber-attack.

　　The federal government is also working with state and local authorities on potential additional steps.