What type of cyber attack was involved in the Colonial Pipeline incident?

The Colonial Pipeline incident was a significant cyber attack involving ransomware. In this case, a group of cybercriminals deployed ransomware to infiltrate the company's systems, effectively locking them out of critical operational data until a ransom was paid. This type of attack not only disrupted the business operations but also highlighted the vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure systems.

Ransomware attacks typically involve encrypting the victim's files, making them inaccessible until a ransom is paid, which is precisely what happened in the Colonial Pipeline scenario. The attackers demanded payment in cryptocurrency, which is common in such cases due to its pseudonymous nature. The attack underscored the importance of maintaining strong cybersecurity measures, particularly in sectors that are essential for public safety and wellbeing.

Other types of attacks mentioned in the options, such as phishing, denial of service, and general malware attacks, could contribute to different cyber incidents but were not the primary threat in this particular case. Phishing involves tricking individuals into providing access credentials, which can lead to ransomware but was not the mechanism used in this incident. Denial of service focuses on overwhelming systems to cause outages without data theft or ransom demands, and malware encompasses a wide range of harmful software but does not specify the targeted, profit-driven nature of ransomware attacks like the