The ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline has prompted emergency meetings as the White House finalizes its cybersecurity Executive Order. With new details on the attack and the EO w/ @SangerNYT https://t.co/NhGo5yBsdN
— Nicole Perlroth (@nicoleperlroth) May 10, 2021
National security concerns due to Colonial shut down
The ransomware attack demonstrates how vulnerable the U.S. energy infrastructure is to cyberattacks. But DarkSide’s reaction was a surprise.
Colonial is one of the largest pipelines in the U.S. It carries jet fuel and refined gasoline from Texas to New York with a route moving along the East Coast.
Late Friday, the Colonial system operator issued a statement. The statement was updated over the weekend and again on Monday. Colonial explained that the cyber breach was forcing a shutdown of the 5,500-mile pipeline, which carries 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel supplies.
The pipeline also called in federal authorities. And on Saturday, there were emergency meetings at the Biden White House with the FBI and Energy Department.
In the meetings, the Feds are struggling with how to protect the nation’s infrastructure. The federal government has been on high-alert since Colonial acknowledged its corporate computer networks were hit. And there was also a precautionary pipeline shut down to stop the ransomware attack from spreading.
