Cyberattack prompts shutdown of major fuel pipeline in the US

One of the largest pipelines in the US has been taken offline by its operator following a cyberattack. First reported by the New York Times, Colonial Pipeline, which carries 45 percent of the fuel supplies for the eastern US, said in a statement late Friday that it took “certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations and affected some of our IT systems.”

The pipeline is 5,500 miles long and carries jet fuel and refined gasoline from the Gulf Coast to New York, according to the Times, transporting some 2.5 million barrels daily.

It’s not yet clear whether the attack targeted Colonial’s industrial control systems, or if there was ransomware or malware involved. Alpharetta, Georgia-based...

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