The attack that hit Colonial Pipeline last week is a novel form of cybercrime that puts normally staid corporate entities in the vise of an old-school extortion scheme, one in which a company¡¯s balance sheet, insurance status and capacity to absorb the pain of a lengthy operational shutdown may all come into play.
The attackers, specialists in a type of hack called ransomware, penetrated the company¡¯s administrative network and locked employees out of company computers, forcing the unexpected shut down of the Eastern Seaboard¡¯s main supply source of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.
Colonial is getting help from private cybersecurity experts, but the company is largely alone in facing a barrage of unenviable choices ¡ª not the least of which is whether to negotiate with the hackers and pay the ransom, according to security experts and veteran negotiators.
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