The Colonial Pipeline delivers about 45% of the East Coast’s fuel. On Friday, hackers committed a cyberattack on the company’s computer systems. To deal with the threat, the establishment paused all pipeline operations.
What We Know:
- Drivers waited in long lines at gas stations in Southeast states. According to the travel app GasBuddy, almost 6.5% of Virginia locations ran out of gasoline as of late Monday. In addition, more than 1% of North Carolina and Florida establishments were also out. Furthermore, governors from North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida have declared states of emergency and have taken measures to ensure every citizen obtains fuel. For example, Gov. Roy Cooper (NC) discontinued some fuel regulations, and Gov. Brian Kemp (GA) suspended the gasoline tax.
- The panic surrounding the Colonial Pipeline shutdown will result in economic effects. Several sources, such as Clearview Energy Partners, The American Automobile Association (AAA), and Gas Buddy, say the fuel cost will spike “pretty dramatically.” Prices were already increasing due to growing consumer command and renewed economic growth. They will keep inflating if the shutdown progresses to the end of the week.
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that Darkside’s Russian cybercriminal group carried out the ransomware assault. However, President Joe Biden declared on Monday there is no evidence that the Russian government is involved, although the perpetrators are in Russia. Therefore, “they have some responsibility to deal with this.” Biden announced he would meet with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to discuss the pipeline shutdown. He has not provided an exact date for the meeting.
- Many private companies and federal government networks like SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline have experienced over-the-computer ambushes in the past year. The most recent shutdown motivated Biden to improve U.S. cybersecurity defenses; thus, he signed an executive order Wednesday. His motion will confront “persistent and increasingly sophisticated malicious cyber campaigns” that threaten American security. Additionally, Colonial released a statement on Wednesday announcing they would begin pipeline operations once more. The company announced, “all lines, including those lateral lines that have been running manually, will return to normal operations.”
Colonial will conduct pipeline safety assessments in compliance with Federal pipeline safety requirements before resuming normal deliveries. Returning to normalcy may take several days, the company affirmed.
