Cyberattack shuts Colonial east coast US pipeline, major disruption ahead

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – A key US pipeline, which carries gasoline and jet fuel from Texas along the East Coast to New York, was forced to shut down over the weekend following a cyberattack, according to US government and media reports.

System operator, Colonial Pipeline, said late Friday that it had shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline, which it says carries 45 per cent of the East Coast's fuel supplies, in an effort to contain the breach.

Earlier Friday, there were disruptions along the pipeline, but it was not clear at the time whether that was a direct result of the attack or of the company's moves to proactively halt it, the New York Times reported.

Administration officials said they believed the attack was the act of a criminal group, rather than a nation seeking to disrupt critical infrastructure in the United States. 

The New York Times further noted that the shutdown of such a vital pipeline, one that has served the East Coast since the early 1960s, highlights the vulnerability of ageing infrastructure connected to the internet.

Colonial's pipeline transports 2.5 million barrels each day, taking refined gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel from the Gulf Coast up to New York Harbor and New York's major airports.