Ransomware Attack Targets US Fuel Pipelines

On May 10, Reuters reported that the US administration was working to support the country’s top fuel pipeline operator after a large-scale cyberattack threatened national security.
Accordingly, the White House is working closely with the leading US fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline to help them recover from a ransomware attack that forced the company to close a network. an important fuel supply to the populous states in the East.

The attack was one of the most disruptive digital ransom schemes reported, prompting US lawmakers to call for increased protection of America’s critical energy infrastructure from hackers. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said pipeline repairs were a priority for the Biden administration and Washington was working to avoid more severe fuel supply disruptions by helping Colonial restart the road network. The tube is more than 5,500 miles (8,850 km) long. “Right now it’s an all-in-one effort,” Raimondo said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We are working closely with company, state and local officials to ensure they return to normal operations as quickly as possible and without disruption to supplies,” Colonial said. The pipeline network was attacked – Photo: Reuters Their main fuel lines are still offline, but some of the smaller routes between the terminals and delivery points are now up and running. Neither Raimondo nor the company has given an estimate of a full reboot date. U.S. gasoline futures rose more than 3% to $2,217 a gallon, the highest since May 2018 as trading opened for the week and market participants reacted to pipeline closures. Colonial ships about 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline and other fuels from refineries on the Gulf Coast to consumers. Its extensive pipeline network serves major US airports including Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson Airport, the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic. A spokeswoman for Charlotte Douglas International Airport said the airport had supplies on hand and was “monitoring the situation closely”. Retail fuel experts including the American Automobile Association say outages lasting several days could have a significant impact on fuel supplies in the region, particularly in the southeastern US. Colonial Pipeline’s fuel tanks – Photo: Reuters While the US government investigation is in its early stages, a former official and three industry sources said the suspected hackers were a professional cybercrime group called DarkSide. DarkSide is one of many gangs that often use malware to extort victims. These groups gain access to private networks, encrypt files with software, and often steal data. They ask for money to decrypt the files and ask for more money to not publish the stolen content. During the Colonial attack, the hackers stole more than 100 gigabytes of data.