The Colonial Pipeline has resumed service, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, after a cyberattack that halted gas supply in the eastern United States for days.
As per the statement from Colonial Pipeline, after this restart, possibly it will take many days for the supply chain to return to normal. After the start-up phase, markets that are served by the company will experience intermittent service interruptions.
The statement said that Colonial will continue to export as much gasoline, gas, and jet fuel safely as possible before the market gets back to normal.
Ransom money in millions was demanded by the hackers and was refused by the pipeline corporation, instead of seeking help from the Department of Energy and federal, state, and local authorities. According to a statement issued Wednesday by Deputy Energy Secretary Dave Turk, the company resumed partial activities earlier this week under manual control.
The White House Details A ‘thorough’ Reaction to the Colonial Pipeline
Colonial claimed that security would be its “primary concern” following the restart. The pipeline corporation would conduct a series of safety audits to maintain conformity with federal legislation.
The firm said that the beginning of the restart operation was impossible without the unwavering support of dedicated employees of Colonial Pipeline, who have worked tirelessly to assist us in achieving this milestone.
The ransomware attack, which has been linked to Russia’s Darkside hacker group, targeted a 5,500-mile pipeline that transports over 100 million gallons of fuel daily – almost half of the East Coast’s supply.
The pipeline was forced to suspend some of its services last Friday in response to a ransomware attack. The closure affected the delivery of fuel and resulted in panic buying amid concerns of a shortage. As a result of the crisis, a state of emergency was declared by some governors.
Confronted with doubts about the US’s ability to protect its networks against cyberattacks such as the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, an executive order was signed by President Biden on Wednesday aiming to modernize the government’s response against cyberattacks by enhancing information sharing between the US government and the private sector on cyber threats.
