Kategori : ELECTRICITY ENERGY NEWS, ENERGY AGENDA NEWS, OIL & FUEL SECTOR NEWS, GREEN TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION NEWS - Tarih : 21 May 2021

The Colonial Pipeline company, which operates a fuel pipeline in the United States, had temporarily suspended its operations on May 7, 2021, declaring that it was targeted by ransomware. Cyber ​​security company ESET drew attention to such attacks, stating that the attack on the Colonial fuel pipeline reminds us of the increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructures.

The Colonial pipeline system, which is about 9 thousand kilometers long, was affected by the cyber attack in the first week of May, and millions of barrels of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel could not be transported from the Gulf of Mexico to the East Coast. After the cyber attack, in which the DarkSide group was blamed, there was a problem in the gasoline supply chain in the southeastern region of the country. ESET shared that the attack was a reminder of the increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructures.

Cyber ​​attacks on infrastructures are no longer a theory

While threats to physical infrastructure are still claimed to be exaggerated and largely theoretical, the list of attacked organizations and infrastructures is growing day by day. The aftershocks of the ransomware attack against the Colonial Pipeline by the DarkSide cybercriminal gang continue. While the Colonial Pipeline restarted its normal operations, it is stated that it paid close to $ 5 million in ransom to the gang. Investigation into the attack continues.

Electricity, water and communication infrastructures are also at the target of attackers

He stated that over the years, attackers had quietly searched for critical infrastructure targets, launching attacks against high-value targets. According to experts’ evaluations, attackers can enter without zero-day attacks. Although significant security efforts have been made by critical infrastructure operators in recent years, finding holes in security armor is still considered easy. It is stated that when electricity, water, fuel infrastructures or communication networks suddenly stop, why the security of critical infrastructure should be given importance, unfortunately, will emerge. While there are groups of serious tech experts who are stepping up their attempts to block ransomware, attackers can still be effective using legacy threats.