Cyber Attacks – Colonial Pipeline

In today’s cyber age many fail to realise that significant threats to industries can come from software and online systems. These also make potential easy targets as many have not upgraded their security systems to account for these breaches. Numerous cyber-attacks have occurred worldwide, some affecting critical and major industries; one such example occurred at the Colonial Pipeline in USA on the 6^th of May 2021

The attack was perpetrated by a hacker group identifying as Darkside which gained access to the company’s network through a leaked password for a VPN account. Colonial Pipeline’s systems where quickly shut down but not before 100 gb of data where stolen and ransomware was installed. The hacker group was eventually paid off to stop the attack and the company was able to regain control of their network systems.

With Colonial Pipeline being one of the major distributers of refined oil products in the USA, many related industries were consequentially affected, ranging from the airlines to the everyday consumer.

It is suspected the password used to gain entry was reused in another location and became compromised as part of a different data breach. It is important to consistently monitor all systems connected to a network and implement the relevant standards and best practises for IT/OT security

Dickinson Technology in alliance with our partners, have developed a unique and robust industrial security solution package that aims to prevent and catch these breaches before significant harm can be done.