Article
The Colonial Pipeline attack, five years later
A look back at the 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and what it still teaches businesses about MFA, network segmentation, and recovery planning.
- PROTECT
6 min ·
INDUSTRY / ENERGY & FIELD SERVICES
The work got done in the field. The invoice shouldn't wait weeks to catch up.
Your crews are out on sites, sometimes hours from an office, filling out field tickets by hand and moving on to the next job. Cyber6 helps you turn field tickets into invoices without the weeks-long lag, keep the rugged devices and remote connections your crews rely on secure, and give your field teams practical training that fits how they actually work.
AUTOMATEPROTECTEMPOWER
5 min read
field crew at a well site or job site with a rugged tablet and a truck in the background
Example
Automated follow-up
Crew completes field ticket
Signed on a rugged device at the site
Ticket synced to office
Uploaded when the crew gets signal
Ticket reviewed and approved
Flagged automatically if something's missing
Invoice generated
Sent without re-keying the ticket
WE GET IT
We know what your week looks like
- 01
Field tickets on paper
A crew fills out a paper ticket at a remote site, and it rides in a truck for days before it reaches the office and gets typed into the billing system.
- 02
Weeks between work and invoice
By the time a ticket is transcribed, reviewed, and turned into an invoice, weeks have passed since the crew actually did the work.
- 03
Crews out of reach
Sites are often hours from the nearest office, with spotty or no signal, making it hard to get real-time updates or quick answers back to dispatch.
- 04
Shared rugged devices
Field tablets get passed between crew members and shifts, with no individual login and no way to tell who entered what or lock a lost device.
- 05
Safety documentation piles up
Safety checks, incident reports, and compliance forms are filled out in the field and pile up faster than the office can file and track them.
- 06
Remote connectivity with weak controls
Crews and vendors connect back to office systems over connections that were set up years ago and never reviewed.
- 07
A fake invoice from a 'regular supplier'
The office gets an invoice that looks like it's from a fuel or equipment supplier, with new payment details, timed to a normal payment run.
THE IMPACT
What it's costing you
Cash tied up for weeks in finished work
Every week between a completed job and a sent invoice is a week your cash sits in the field instead of your account.
Errors that surface too late
A field ticket with a missing signature or wrong quantity isn't caught until billing, when it's harder and slower to fix.
Safety documentation gaps
Missing or late safety records create exposure with operators, contractors, and regulators who expect them on file and current.
Devices and access nobody tracks
A lost or stolen rugged device with shared logins can expose more data and access than anyone realizes until it's gone.
Office time spent re-entering paperwork
Hours spent transcribing paper tickets are hours not spent chasing the next job or the next invoice.
COMPLIANCE
Rules you have to follow
Operator and contractor security requirements
- What it is
- Security requirements imposed by the operators and larger contractors you work for before they'll bring you onto a site or contract.
- Who it applies to
- Field service companies and contractors working for oil and gas, utility, or other energy operators with formal vendor requirements.
- What it expects of you
- Evidence of data protection practices, device management, and sometimes specific technical controls before you're approved as a vendor.
- How Cyber6 helps
- We document your practices and close gaps before an operator's vendor review becomes the reason you lose a contract.
Safety recordkeeping requirements
- What it is
- Requirements to keep safety checks, incident reports, and training records for required periods and produce them on request.
- Who it applies to
- Field service and contracting companies operating on regulated sites.
- What it expects of you
- Complete, retrievable safety records kept for the required timeframe.
- How Cyber6 helps
- We help you organize and back up safety documentation so it's ready when an operator or regulator asks for it.
This is general information, not legal advice.
THE FIX
How Cyber6 helps
AUTOMATE
Fill the gaps automatically
- Get found
The right customers find you on Google, AI search, and social, in your own voice.
- Get customers
Every call, text, form, and quote turns into booked work.
- Serve customers
Customers hear from you at the right time, without your team chasing them.
- Get paid
Money you've already earned comes in sooner, without awkward phone calls.
- Run the business
Less retyping and waiting, more time for the work that matters.
Field ticket-to-invoice
Field tickets are completed on a device at the site, synced when the crew gets signal, and turned into an invoice without anyone re-typing them.
Safety documentation
Safety forms are completed digitally in the field, automatically filed and flagged if something's missing, so gaps get caught the same day.
Dispatch and crew status updates
Crews log status at each stage from their device, and the office sees job progress without making a call, freeing dispatch to focus on the next site.
PROTECT
Protect what you're trusted with
- 01
Rugged device management
We set up individual logins on field devices and the ability to lock or wipe a device remotely if it's lost or stolen on site.
What this means for you: A lost tablet in a truck doesn't become an open door into your job and customer data.
- 02
Secure remote connectivity
We review and rebuild the connections crews and vendors use to reach office systems, replacing old, unreviewed access with controlled, logged connections.
What this means for you: You know who is connecting to your systems from the field, and can shut off access the moment it's no longer needed.
- 03
Endpoint protection and patching
We deploy and keep field devices and office systems on a schedule that fits limited connectivity.
What this means for you: Fewer easy openings for ransomware, even on devices that are offline most of the day.
- 04
Backups kept separate and tested
Job records, field tickets, and safety documentation are backed up on a schedule, stored off your main network, and tested to confirm they restore.
What this means for you: A ransomware attack or a broken device doesn't mean losing a crew's work history.
EMPOWER
Train the people doing the work
Field crews
Crew training on device and data habits
Practical training that fits limited time and connectivity, covering device logins, what to do if a device goes missing, and basic phishing awareness.
Office staff handling billing and payments
Office and dispatch fraud training
How fake supplier and vendor emails try to redirect payments, and a verification habit before changing payment details.
A DAY WITH CYBER6
A day with your field crews and Cyber6
6:15 AMPROTECT
A crew heads out with a rugged tablet logged in under their own name, not a shared login.
11:00 AMAUTOMATE
A completed field ticket syncs the moment the crew gets signal, already matched to the right job.
2:30 PMPROTECT
A fake supplier invoice with new bank details gets flagged before the office pays it.
4:45 PMAUTOMATE
Yesterday's finished job is already invoiced, ticket attached, without anyone re-typing it back at the office.
YOUR TOOLS
Systems we commonly see
- field ticketing platforms
- QuickBooks
- Sage
We work alongside the systems you already use. We'll confirm what connects during your assessment.
QUESTIONS
Questions from energy & field services
Yes. Field tickets and safety forms save on the device and sync automatically once a crew gets signal, so nothing depends on a constant connection.
We work alongside common field ticketing platforms and confirm exactly what connects during the assessment.
With individual logins and device management in place, we can lock or wipe it remotely, and it doesn't expose more than that one crew member's access.
Operator and contractor vendor requirements apply regardless of crew size, and a lost device or fraud attempt can hurt a small crew as much as a large one.
Yes. We can work alongside them on security and automation, or take over fully.
We document your device management, connectivity, and safety recordkeeping in the format operators typically ask for.
Nothing. It's a free review of your field ticket cycle and device security, with a written summary of what to fix first.
RESOURCES
Learn more
WHO WE'VE WORKED WITH
- A statewide cybersecurity assessment program
- Credit unions
- A water and wastewater utility
- Housing organizations
- Nonprofits and churches
- Small businesses
- A health and wellness startup
Every result is measured against your own starting point.
How we prove it →PART OF ONE PARTNER
One partner for all three.
Protect · IT & Cybersecurity
IT and cybersecurity, managed around the clock.
You're here
Empower · Training for Businesses & Individuals
Training that builds skills for your team and your career.
Explore Empower
WHY CYBER6
Why businesses choose Cyber6.
One partner, not three vendors
The people automating your work also run and protect your IT and train your team, so nothing falls between companies.
Plain language and real people
You talk to people who explain things clearly, answer the phone, and tell you what they'd do in your place.
Measured against your own numbers
We record where you start before anything changes, then report results against that baseline.
Marquis Carroll, Founder & CEO. Marquis has spent years doing hands-on IT and security work through his own business, and runs a mentorship program that has helped people start careers in tech.
Our storyGETTING STARTED
Four steps from first call to results.
Explore
A relaxed 30-minute conversation about how your business runs and what's getting in the way. No cost, no pressure.
You get: honest answers on whether we can help.
Assess
We look at your systems, security, manual work, and training needs, and record your starting numbers.
You get: a plain-English picture of your risks and opportunities.
Set up
A prioritized plan and proposal, then a kickoff that introduces your team and sets up access safely.
You get: a shared timeline and who to call for what.
Enable
We roll out in phases, train your team, and walk you through your first results.
You get: your first plain-English report, measured with PROVE.
Let's look at your field operations together.
A 30-minute call. No cost, no pressure, and honest answers.