Cyberattacks are becoming a growing threat to midstream assets and activities, said this Wednesday Kelcy Warren, Chairman and Executive of Energy Transfer, during an appearance at an oil conference in Bismarck, as reported by the BT.
Firstly, Warren confirmed that the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAC) has also faced cyberattacks or cybersecurity threats; however, unsuccessful. Nevertheless, such attempts, and the attack on Colonial Pipeline confirms that cyberattacks are growing threat to the industry.
Secondly, he expressed his concerns by saying to attendees of the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference; at the Bismarck Event Center, that. “I’m worried this is going to be tried a lot more frequently.”
Thirdly, as we reported previously, last Friday the biggest pipeline in the U.S. got hacked by a group of cyber criminals called DarkSide. It infected Colonial Pipeline’s network computers with a malware; it sequestrated operations and asked for ransom.
Moreover, according to specialized media, the company had to pay for the release; however, in fear of the attack spreading to industrial operation’s computers, the company shut down operations.
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Indeed, the shut caused havoc in southern and eastern states; as they heavily rely on the pipe’s supply. The pipeline, nevertheless, came back online this Wednesday, around 5:00pm, but the supply is still under the weather.
Furthermore, as cyberattacks are increasingly disruptive, like the one in past months, when the Department of Energy got hacked and became vulnerable in its Nuclear Weapons agency, president Joe Biden issued this week a bill to further improve cybersecurity across all segments of the industry.
On the other hand, during the conference, Harold Hamm, founder of Continental Resources, called what happened to the Colonial Pipeline a “terrorist attack”; and stressed that the federal government needs to step up.
Finally, he remarked. “It needs to be escalated from the FBI to the Department of Defense. These are foreign terrorists doing this that want to take down America.”
