Discussion:
Colonial Pipeline, the Largest Fuel Pipeline in the U.S., Has Shut Down Over a Ransomware Attack
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Anonymous Remailer (austria)
2021-05-09 13:13:10 UTC
Permalink
Poster note.

For several years, they have been migrating off HP Bladecenters
to Nutanix. Environment is ESXi, mixed bag of RHEL, Oracle,
Solaris and CentOS servers.

The victimized client OS? Apple, multiple products.

Compatibility
iPhone
Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
iPad
Requires iPadOS 13.0 or later.
iPod touch
Requires iOS 13.0 or later.
Mac
Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip.

Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.

................................................................
..........

If you live on the East Coast and see fuel prices go up soon,
there’s a good chance it’s because of the cyberattack that
forced the Colonial pipeline, the country’s largest refined
products pipeline, to shut down. There is currently no
indication of when it will start back up again.

Operators of the Colonial pipeline—a 5,500-mile system that
takes fuel from refineries in Houston, Texas to the New York
harbor—have shut down the entire system because of the
cyberattack, which officials revealed to be ransomware on
Saturday. Hackers that use ransomware, a type of malware,
encrypt a victim’s files and demand a ransom payment in order to
restore access.

According to NBC News, the pipeline, which is owned by a company
of the same name, transports 2.5 million barrels of gas, diesel,
jet fuel, and other refined products per day.

Colonial Pipeline (the company), which is controlled by
companies including Koch Industries and Royal Dutch Shell,
affirms it’s responsible for transporting 45% of the East
Coast’s fuel supply alone, the outlet stated. In a statement on
its website on Saturday, the company affirmed that it had
engaged a leading third-party cybersecurity firm to investigate
the incident. The Wall Street Journal reported that the
cybersecurity company FireEye is investigating the attack.

Colonial Pipeline said that after it determined that the
cyberattack involved ransomware, it “proactively took certain
systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily
halted all pipeline operations, and affected some of our IT
systems.”

The company has contacted law enforcement and other federal
agencies, it said in the statement.

In the Journal report, two people familiar with the
investigation stated that the attack appeared to be limited to
Colonial Pipeline’s information systems. It seemed like it
hadn’t affected its operational control systems, they said,
adding that the inspection was still in its early stages.

This isn’t the first time the Colonial pipeline has made
headlines in recent months. Earlier this year, the company
revealed that a spill in North Carolina last August led to a
leak of 1.2 million gallons of gasoline, the biggest spill since
1997. Initially, the company stated that only 63,000 gallons had
been leaked, but that number steadily crept way up.

It is unclear when the pipeline will resume operations. Colonial
Pipeline stated it was taking steps to understand and resolve
the issue.

“At this time, our primary focus is the safe and efficient
restoration of our service and our efforts to return to normal
operation,” Colonial Pipeline said. “This process is already
underway, and we are working diligently to address this matter
and to minimize disruption to our customers and those who rely
on Colonial Pipeline.”

The federal government has recently been sounding the alarm
about the threat posed by ransomware attacks. On Wednesday,
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
stated that these attacks were on the rise and that targets
ranged from government agencies to small businesses. The threat
is real, Mayorkas said, and there is a risk to all of us.

Additionally, last month a Justice Department memo obtained by
CNN stated that the agency had created a new task force
dedicated to confronting and responding to ransomware threats.

As far as price increases go, Reuters points out that prices
aren’t expected to rise unless the closure lasts more than three
days. States in the southeastern part of the country would
likely see price jumps first. In 2016, for instance, a Colonial
system leak forced the line to shut down for more than 10 days,
driving prices up by more than 30 cents a gallon.

Update 5/8/2021, 11:18 p.m. ET: This post has been updated with
additional information provided by Colonial Pipeline.

https://earther.gizmodo.com/colonial-pipeline-the-largest-fuel-
pipeline-in-the-u-s-1846854104
Roger Blake
2021-05-09 20:28:01 UTC
Permalink
Post by Anonymous Remailer (austria)
Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.
The weakest link in the food chain are the idiots who believe that every
damned thing, including critical infrastructure, needs to be connected
to the internet. Were pipeline operations connected to the internet 30
or 40 years ago? Highly unlikely, yet it managed to be functional.

Nothing on the internet is truly secure, I don't care what operating
systems are involved. Pull the plug and cyber attacks become impossible.

--
Chris
2021-05-10 09:08:59 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Blake
Post by Anonymous Remailer (austria)
Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.
The weakest link in the food chain are the idiots who believe that every
damned thing, including critical infrastructure, needs to be connected
to the internet. Were pipeline operations connected to the internet 30
or 40 years ago? Highly unlikely, yet it managed to be functional.
Although true there are advantages to having critical infrastructure on
*a* network. For monitoring and control, for example. Using the internet
is far cheaper and more robust than having your own network.
Post by Roger Blake
Nothing on the internet is truly secure, I don't care what operating
systems are involved. Pull the plug and cyber attacks become impossible.
Also true, but it doesn't follow that simply being on the internet
leaves you vulnerable to these types of attacks. The world's security
and military orgs are also on the internet and they don't fall prey to
these types of attacks.

What *is* the weakest link is companies downgrading IT and
infrastructure because it is too expensive and doesn't add to
shareholder value. You can guarantee they'll be paying through the nose
to get this fixed ASAP.

The problem with really good (IT) security is that you don't really
notice it so you don't realise how big a job it's doing.
Roger Blake
2021-05-10 20:46:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris
Although true there are advantages to having critical infrastructure on
*a* network. For monitoring and control, for example. Using the internet
is far cheaper and more robust than having your own network.
As we can see in this attack, the drawbacks having critical infrastructure
attached to the internet clearly outweigh the benefits.
Post by Chris
Also true, but it doesn't follow that simply being on the internet
leaves you vulnerable to these types of attacks. The world's security
and military orgs are also on the internet and they don't fall prey to
these types of attacks.
Organizations with full-time security staff are routinely broken into.

There are some things that just should not be connected to the public internet.

--
Nomen Nescio
2021-05-11 06:00:07 UTC
Permalink
Post by Chris
Post by Roger Blake
Post by Anonymous Remailer (austria)
Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.
The weakest link in the food chain are the idiots who believe that every
damned thing, including critical infrastructure, needs to be connected
to the internet. Were pipeline operations connected to the internet 30
or 40 years ago? Highly unlikely, yet it managed to be functional.
Although true there are advantages to having critical infrastructure on
*a* network. For monitoring and control, for example. Using the internet
is far cheaper and more robust than having your own network.
Sucks dick for VOIP.
Post by Chris
Post by Roger Blake
Nothing on the internet is truly secure, I don't care what operating
systems are involved. Pull the plug and cyber attacks become impossible.
Also true, but it doesn't follow that simply being on the internet
leaves you vulnerable to these types of attacks. The world's security
and military orgs are also on the internet and they don't fall prey to
these types of attacks.
You would be wrong to think we are on the "same" 'Internet' as
you peons.
Post by Chris
What *is* the weakest link is companies downgrading IT and
infrastructure because it is too expensive and doesn't add to
shareholder value. You can guarantee they'll be paying through the nose
to get this fixed ASAP.
The weakest link is permitting IBM, HP, Cisco, Dell, AT&T,
Verizon, and Lenovo to monopolize business IT services and
outsource your personal / company data to incompetents in India.
Post by Chris
The problem with really good (IT) security is that you don't really
notice it so you don't realise how big a job it's doing.
IT security is doing the job right in the first place.
Something IBM, HP, Cisco, Dell, AT&T, Verizon, and Lenovo don't
do.

Eric Stevens
2021-05-10 09:15:43 UTC
Permalink
On Sun, 9 May 2021 20:28:01 -0000 (UTC), Roger Blake
Post by Roger Blake
Post by Anonymous Remailer (austria)
Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.
The weakest link in the food chain are the idiots who believe that every
damned thing, including critical infrastructure, needs to be connected
to the internet. Were pipeline operations connected to the internet 30
or 40 years ago? Highly unlikely, yet it managed to be functional.
Nothing on the internet is truly secure, I don't care what operating
systems are involved. Pull the plug and cyber attacks become impossible.
Rambus Root of Trust solutions are progressively moving in but all the
older stuff lacks them.
https://www.rambus.com/security/root-of-trust/
--
Regards,

Eric Stevens
Anonymous Remailer (austria)
2021-05-11 04:10:12 UTC
Permalink
Post by Eric Stevens
On Sun, 9 May 2021 20:28:01 -0000 (UTC), Roger Blake
Post by Roger Blake
Post by Anonymous Remailer (austria)
Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.
The weakest link in the food chain are the idiots who believe that every
damned thing, including critical infrastructure, needs to be connected
to the internet. Were pipeline operations connected to the internet 30
or 40 years ago? Highly unlikely, yet it managed to be functional.
Nothing on the internet is truly secure, I don't care what operating
systems are involved. Pull the plug and cyber attacks become impossible.
Rambus Root of Trust solutions are progressively moving in but all the
older stuff lacks them.
https://www.rambus.com/security/root-of-trust/
After they got hoisted on their petards for trying to "Brocade"
the memory market, do you really think we'd ever trust that
company again?
Anonymous Remailer (austria)
2021-05-11 04:01:04 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Blake
Post by Anonymous Remailer (austria)
Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.
The weakest link in the food chain are the idiots who believe that every
damned thing, including critical infrastructure, needs to be connected
to the internet. Were pipeline operations connected to the internet 30
or 40 years ago? Highly unlikely, yet it managed to be functional.
Nothing on the internet is truly secure, I don't care what operating
systems are involved. Pull the plug and cyber attacks become impossible.
We didn't have these problems when companies used dedicated
circuits and lazy DEMOCRAT employees were not allowed Internet
access at work. You are not at work to play. You are there to
work.
Post by Roger Blake
--
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Roger Blake (Posts from Google Groups killfiled due to excess spam.)
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Don't talk to cops! -- https://DontTalkToCops.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T
2021-05-11 05:44:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Roger Blake
Post by Anonymous Remailer (austria)
Again Apple products and users prove to be the weakest link in
the food chain.
The weakest link in the food chain are the idiots who believe that every
damned thing, including critical infrastructure, needs to be connected
to the internet. Were pipeline operations connected to the internet 30
or 40 years ago? Highly unlikely, yet it managed to be functional.
Nothing on the internet is truly secure, I don't care what operating
systems are involved. Pull the plug and cyber attacks become impossible.
Boy you hit the head on that nail.

Two words: dark fiber.
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