A Friday evening cyberattack on a company that operates a pipeline running half the fuel used on the East Coast of the United States prompted the operator to shut down the pipeline, a move that could spike gas prices, Politico reports.
The Colonial Pipeline, a 5,500 mile pipeline that delivers 2.5 million barrels of refined product daily, was shut down after the operator reported a ransomeware attack on the company’s IT system. Colonial said it contracted with an outside security company to address the attack.
“I’m unaware anything approaching this magnitude in the U.S.,” said Bob McNally, president of energy consultancy Rapidan Energy, who served on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration. “In the U.S., this is a new escalation, a much more important attack on a vital piece of infrastructure.”
The outage could drive gas prices in the Southeast to over three dollars per gallon, as pipeline deliveries to regional terminals dry up. Colonial supplied five terminals on the East Coast, rotating deliveries through the week.
“I’m unaware anything approaching this magnitude in the U.S.,” said Bob McNally, president of energy consultancy Rapidan Energy, who served on the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration. “In the U.S., this is a new escalation, a much more important attack on a vital piece of infrastructure.”