(Reuters) – Shares in cybersecurity technology provider FireEye Inc were up 4.6% on Monday after top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline had to shut its entire network due to a cyber attack on Friday that involved ransomware.
Cybersecurity industry sources told Reuters that FireEye was brought in to respond to the attack, which was one of the most disruptive digital ransom operations ever reported. FireEye declined to comment.
FireEye stock last traded at $20.21 after rising as high as $20.49. The stock was on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since March 9.
“Their stock usually goes up with these kind of attacks. They’re the go-to guys,” said Catharine Trebnick, analyst at Colliers Securities, adding that “they usually have follow-on sales from these types of breaches.”
The attack on Colonial Pipeline is one of the most disruptive digital ransom schemes reported and the resulting shutdown has disrupted fuel supply across the eastern United States.
Rival cybersecurity companies were underperforming with CrowdStrike Holdings shares down 0.9% while Palo Alto Networks shares were up 0.3% and Microsoft shares falling 0.7%.
(Reporting By Sinéad Carew, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
