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Overview
On Saturday May 7th the Colonial Pipeline Company took some of their systems offline after learning it was the victim of a ransomware cyber-attack. The attack and subsequent shutdown resulted in a halt in operations of their 5,500-mile long pipeline spanning 11 states from New Jersey to Texas and responsible for around 45% of the East Coast’s diesel, petrol, and jet fuel. Colonial Pipeline immediately began working with law enforcement and several federal agencies with the Department of Energy leading the government’s response. According to open source sources, the ransomware cyber-attack hit the IT portion of the company’s network and not to operational technology which controls pipeline functionality.
Parts of the pipeline were reactivated earlier in the week and by 5:00pm ET on Wednesday May 12th, Colonial Pipeline had initiated a restart of the pipeline operation. It will take several more days for product delivery to the full supply chain returns to normal, with most markets expected to receive product by Thursday afternoon.
Shortages
Significant fuel shortages have been reported in all the states serviced by the pipeline with authorities quickly advising people to avoid panic buying and only get the gas needed through the week/weekend. Gas prices swiftly increased as some gas stations ran out of fuel while others limited purchases, commonly capping at 10 gallons or $30 dollars per vehicle. The fuel shortage also impacted air travel with American Airlines adding temporary refueling stops to long-haul flights out of North Carolina and Southwest Airlines flying planes with extra fuel into airports in the impacted area including Tennessee.
In response to the shortages and after reports of significant price increases and lines at the pump, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared states of emergency. The federal government responded with several measures including relaxing rules on the transportation of fuel by road to minimize supply disruption.
Most officials now believe that by the weekend most people will not have issues finding and buying gas.
Cyber-attack
The cyber-criminal group DarkSide claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing a statement reading “our goal is to make money and not creating problems for society” and clarified that they are apolitical and unaffiliated with any government. The group, which offers ransomware to affiliates for a percentage of earning in any successful attacks, stated they weren’t aware that an affiliate was targeting Colonial Pipeline and added that “from today, we introduce moderation and check each company that our partners want to encrypt to avoid social consequences in the future.”
The attackers stole nearly 100 gigabytes of data and threatened to leak the information on the internet if payment wasn’t received. Earlier in the week the FBI officially confirmed DarkSide as responsible.
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