ATLANTA – A major U.S. fuel distributor headquartered in metro Atlanta has halted all operations after being targeted in a cybersecurity attack, the company said Friday night.
Alpharetta-based Colonial Pipeline said it proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which affected some of its information technology systems.
The company describes itself as the largest refined products pipeline in the United States, and says it’s responsible for transporting more than 100 million gallons of fuel daily through a pipeline system spanning more than 5,500 miles between Texas and New Jersey.
The precise nature of the incident was unclear, including who launched the cyberattack and what the motives were.
Mike Chapple, professor of IT, analytics and operations at the University of Notre Dame and a former computer scientist with the National Security Agency, told The Associated Press that systems that control pipelines should not be connected to the internet and vulnerable to cyber intrusions.
“The attacks were extremely sophisticated and they were able to defeat some pretty sophisticated security controls, or the right degree of security controls weren’t in place,” Chapple said.
In a statement released late Friday, Colonial said it has hired a cybersecurity firm to investigate the nature and scope of the cyberattack and that it is working with law enforcement and federal agencies.
“Colonial Pipeline is taking steps to understand and resolve this issue,” the statement said. “At this time, our primary focus is the safe and efficient restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal operation. This process is already underway, and we are working diligently to address this matter and to minimize disruption to our customers and those who rely on Colonial Pipeline.”
