A large-scale offensive.

Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest oil pipeline operators in the United States, has had to cease all operations since Friday after being the victim of a cyber attack, said the company which transports gasoline and diesel on more than 8,800 km of pipelines. across the United States.

The company announced Sunday reopening only a small part of its distribution lines between terminals.

The computer attack involved "ransomware" or ransomware, code that exploits security holes to encrypt computer systems and demand ransom to unblock them, the group confirmed in a statement Sunday evening.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation

"Shortly after learning of the attack, Colonial took some systems offline as a precaution to contain the threat," the company says.

"These actions have temporarily halted all pipeline operations and affected some of our IT systems, which we are actively restoring," the statement added.

The group says "keep in touch with law enforcement and other federal agencies, including the energy ministry which coordinates the federal government's response."

President Joe Biden has been informed of the situation, Gina Raimondo, US Secretary of Commerce, on CBS said on Sunday.

"We are working with local and state authorities to ensure a return to normal operations as soon as possible so that there are no disruptions in supply," added the Minister.

A system restart plan is being developed

Colonial Pipeline, considered one of America's largest oil pipeline operators, carries gasoline and diesel over 8,800 km of pipelines across the United States.

A plan to restart the system is being drawn up, says the group which was able to restore service on side networks between terminals and delivery points.

But the main lines remain inoperative.

"We will only bring our complete system back online when we believe it is safe to do so, with the green light from federal authorities," the company adds.

Neither federal authorities nor Colonial Pipeline have given a date for a complete reopening of the system that supplies airports, terminals and gas stations from refineries around the Gulf of Mexico to the US East Coast.

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  • Cyber ​​attack

  • Cybersecurity

  • Fuel

  • Oil

  • Piracy

  • United States

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