Colonial, a private company that normally delivers 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast, shut down its major pipelines last Friday, sparking a rush of consumer demand, soaring prices and gasoline outages at many pumps in Georgia and other states.
A Colonial spokesman said in an email this week that the company’s open security positions are “part of our longer-term strategy around talent.”
Asked whether the unfilled positions had any impact on the company’s vulnerability or response to the cyberattack, he wrote, “Our investigation into the nature and scope of the ransomware attack continues to be ongoing — but suggesting that it could have been prevented by one position would be inaccurate.”
Georgia Tech’s Beyah cautioned against drawing conclusions based on Colonial’s staff openings. Various other factors contribute to the resiliency of corporate technology systems, such as whether networks are in good shape and whether enough is spent to keep them robust, he said. “In general, if you’ve got more people, that might translate into more secure infrastructure.”
Cybersecurity positions are in high demand in much of the nation, according to people in the…
