6 Things You Need to Know About The Colonial Pipeline Cyber-Attack

If you have not already heard or you haven’t waited in line for hours at your local gas station, The Colonial Pipeline was recently hit by a ransomware attack. Here are six things you need to know about the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack.

Colonial Pipeline Cyber-Attack

#1. Why Is the Colonial Pipeline Important?

Colonial is a company that normally delivers 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast.

#2. Colonial Pipeline Was Hit by a Ransomware Attack

Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts your data so you can’t access it and demands payment in exchange for the access key.

#3. Cyber-attacks Cost Major Coin – $5 Million to be Exact

Colonial Pipeline paid nearly $5 million to recover their system. Cryptocurrency was used, making it difficult to track.

#4. Who Are the Colonial Pipeline Cyber-Hackers?

The hackers are linked to a group called DarkSide, this group is believed to be located in Russia or Eastern Europe.

#5. Colonial Pipeline Knew They Need Stronger Cybersecurity

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “In the weeks before Colonial Pipeline said it was hit by a ransomware attack, the Alpharetta-based company was trying to fill two security leadership positions.” These positions included a Director of Risk Management and a Manager of Cybersecurity.

#6. The Colonial Pipeline Has Since Reopened

Along with the Pipeline being reopened, action has been taken by the US Government in hopes of preventing attacks like this in the future. The President signed a Cybersecurity order on May 12, 2021, according to whitehouse.gov. This order is intended for government agencies to strengthen their networks, show more accountability, and increase communication.

The Colonial Pipeline cyberattack comes off the heels of two other major attacks, SolarWinds, and Microsoft Exchange. Regardless of your industry or company size, your organization stores data at many levels. Personal information, credit card information, and intellectual property. None of this data is immune to a malicious cyber-attack. There are many things you can do to mitigate your business’s risk of cyberattacks. If you’d like a free assessment of your risk or to request our services click here.