Page 13 - Cybersecurity Career Guide for North Dakota

Attack Spreads
trucks struggle to restock gas stations, and long
lines develop at pumps, especially in the Southeast. Airline operations also
are disrupted.
May 9: State
of Emergency
President Joe
Biden declares
a state of emer-
gency. The decla-
ration removes limits regarding the transport of fuels by road, in an attempt to alleviate any potential shortages.
MAY 10: A Team Effort
Operations start to come back online. Updates and continued coordination with Colonial Pipeline clients, partners, and wider contacts focus on three things: the safety and security of restored opera- tions, minimizing disrup- tions to customers, and
containing damage from
the ransomware attacks. At this point, the attack requires the involvement of numerous
other government and law enforcement
entities, the Department
of Energy, multiple private-sector
cybersecurity firms with exper-
tise in ransomware incidents, and the many dif- ferent financial organizations
involved in the company’s money operations.
MAY 12: Reassessment
Company engineers and secu- rity staff examine hundreds of miles of pipeline and oversee alternate shipping arrange- ments to ensure safety. Media and communications staff provide regular updates regarding what has become
a story of interest to people around the world. IT works
with departments through- out the company either
to resurrect or rebuild the data networks required for full resumption of business activities
MAY 17: Operations Resume
Scores of people are still monitoring the status of pipelines and other equip- ment as systems crank back into full action. The commu- nications department works to repair public relations and the company stand-
ing in the public arena.
JUNE 7:
Ransom
Partially
Recovered!
Sophisticated
digital sleuthing
allows the federal government to recover about half of the ransom payment.
Conclusion
Any organization that relies on the internet to conduct business operates under the threat of the same kind of at- tack that befell Colonial Pipe- line. Which means every orga- nization is at risk and in need of employees with cybersecu- rity skills and an awareness of online safety practices. This cybersecurity crisis originated with a phishing email that
an employee treated care- lessly, thereby opening the
door to calamity for the company and severe
nuisance for the general public. It
also illustrates the imperative for everyone to bring
crack cybersecurity skills with them to
work every day. Keep reading to learn more about careers in the field and which
one might work well for you.
TOP TO BOTTOM: WOODY MARSHALL/NEWS & RECORD; AP PHOTO/ MIKE STEWART; AP PHOTO/ DAMIAN DOVARGANES START-ENGINEERING.COM 13