The decision to take the entire Colonial Pipeline Co. system offline following a cyberattack raises questions about whether the pipeline industry will be able to avoid disruptive whole-system shutdowns in the future, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Cybersecurity and information technology professionals warn that following industry best practices alone may not prevent cyberattacks from infecting the systems that control the nation’s vast energy infrastructure. With legacy pipeline assets becoming more connected and ransomware on the rise, attacks that shut down physical infrastructure are becoming more commonplace, they said.
“Now we’re seeing five to 10 a year. While that might not seem high, this is one of them, and you have an entire coast shut down for a pipeline,” said Nicholas Friedman, national managing partner and governance, risk and compliance strategist at enterprise risk management firm Templar Shield Inc.
The event is one of
