The Colonial Pipeline attack on May 7, 2021, was a devastating display of weak cybersecurity, illuminating a pressing need for Multi-Factor Authentication. Multi-Factor Authentication is one of Tx Systems specialties, and implementing one of the many MFA solutions could have saved Colonial Pipeline from the crippling ransomware attack they suffered. MFA solutions combine login credentials with a secondary factor, such as a biometric scan, or other physical access device like a smart card, reader, or token . In the case of the Colonial Pipeline Attack, the lack of MFA is entirely to blame for the ransom and the chaos that spurred from it. 

Hackers gained access to Colonial Pipelines network on April 29, 2021. They were able to do this by obtaining a compromised username and password. The password was used to access the network’s servers remotely, through FireEye, but the account was not guarded by the extra layer of MFA security . Past the point of obtaining the credentials, hackers faced no further barriers to entry. It has since been discovered that the password was part of a batch of leaked credentials found on the Dark Web . This means it was likely the Colonial Pipeline employee had used that same password for another account that was compromised. This is unsurprising, as 73% of passwords used online are duplicates . 

A little over a week later, on May 7th, it was discovered that hackers had infiltrated the system and placed ransomware within the network. The company was made aware of the breach when an employee discovered a ransom note , demanding $4.4 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency, on a system in the IT network. The pipeline immediately began shut down protocols and an hour later the largest distributor of gasoline for the Southeast and East Coast had ground to a halt. The 5,500 miles of pipeline were shut off for nearly a week , causing a ripple effect of gasoline shortages and panic buying among consumers.  

Colonial Pipeline gave into the hackers demands and paid a $4.4 million dollar ransom. Luckily, the FBI was able to recover $2.3 million dollars of the paid ransom; but Colonial Pipeline still needlessly took a massive financial hit— both via the ransom and halted operations. 

This is not an isolated incident , meatpacking giant JBS was hit by a similar attack on May 31st, and paid an $11 million dollar ransom . There are also reports of the New York Subway and Massachusetts ferryboat ope rations being targeted as well. 

In fact, the Wall Street Journal has reported that ransomware attacks have tripled in the past year , according to FBI and private sector reports. These attacks do not need to devastate your or anyone’s business. Multi-Factor Authentication has been shown to stop 99.9% of threats to companies large and small. The Colonial Pipeline, JBS, and countless other ransomware attacks could have been easily prevented if they had implemented stronger security measures via Multi-Factor Authentication. 

At Tx Systems, Multi-Factor Authentication is something we specialize in. Our team of experts are dedicated to making sure nothing like this ever happens to your large or small business. Ransomware attacks are devastating and as we have seen, they are increasing at an almost insurmountable rate. Implementing MFA is the only way to ensure protection from attacks and give you the peace of mind that your data is safe.

For more information on the MFA solutions we offer, check out our website at https://www.txsystems.com/multi-factor-authentication.