Update: The Washington Post, who broke the story, updated their coverage to indicate that the threat actors are DarkSide. DataBreaches.net, who had recently interviewed DarkSide, reached out to ask them for a comment about the Colonial Pipeline report. They politely responded “Hello, no comments,” but then immediately sent another reply explaining, “At the time of negotiations and in the case of payment, we do not disclose information about the transaction.”
Original post follows:
David E. Sanger reports:
A cyberattack forced the shutdown of one of the largest pipelines in the United States, in what appeared to be a significant attempt to disrupt vulnerable energy infrastructure. The pipeline carries refined gasoline and jet fuel up the East Coast from Texas to New York.
The operator of the system, Colonial Pipeline, said in a statement late Friday that it had shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline, which it says carries 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel supplies, in an effort to contain the breach on its computer networks. Earlier Friday, there were disruptions along the pipeline, but it was unclear whether that was a direct result of the attack, or the company’s moves to proactively halt it.
Read more on The New York Times.