RANSOMWARE AND INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS

Chris van den Hooven from Hudson Cybertec explains how organisations can protect themselves against ransomware attacks On 7 May 2021 a ransomware attack took down the Colonial Pipeline infrastructure. Ransomware is a form of malicious software designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the computer systems that rely on them unusable. Attackers then demand ransom in exchange for decryption. In the case of Colonial Pipeline the attackers demanded a ransom of about US$5 million (€4.3 million). The impact of the attack on the largest gasoline pipeline in the US was enormous. Colonial had to shut down the operations and within a day fuel shortages hit Charlotte Douglas International Airport and filling stations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The restart of the pipeline operations began on 12 May and operations had returned to normal on the 15 May. Vehicle fuel supplies took some time to return to normal.   THE INCREASING RANSOMWARE PROBLEM A ransomware attack is possible on any type of IT infrastructure. There have been many successful attacks on all kind of organisations. One of the most recent attacks took place on...