Cyberattack shuts pipeline network

DALLAS — A cyberattack hobbled the electronic communication system used by a major pipeline network, though the company said there was no effect on the flow of natural gas.

The electronic data interchange provided by third-party Energy Services Group LLC for Energy Transfer Partners LP’s pipeline system was attacked Monday and will be shut down until “further notice,” Energy Transfer said in a notice to shippers. Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP also had an electronic data interchange shutdown, though it didn’t disclose the cause. The system conducts business through a computer-to-computer exchange of documents with customers.

The attack didn’t affect operations in any other way, according to Vicki Granado, an Energy Transfer spokesman. “We are handling all scheduling in house during this time,” Granado said in an email.

The shutdown could affect electronic data for a wide network of pipelines owned by Energy Transfer subsidiaries, including Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company, Transwestern Pipeline Company LLC and Rover Pipeline LLC.

The Panhandle natural gas pipeline network includes four large-diameter pipelines stretching from the Anadarko Basin of Texas and Oklahoma into several Midwestern states. The Trunkline system, which extends from the Gulf Coast into the Southeast and Midwest, and the Sea Robin system in the Gulf of Mexico are also part of the Panhandle network.

Though it’s not clear who was responsible for the attack, it comes after U.S. officials warned in March that Russian hackers are conducting a broad assault on the nation’s electric grid and other targets.