Just over a week ago, Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline was the victim of a cyberattack by a terrorist group called DarkSide.
Since then a lot has happened. The 5,500 mile long pipeline that runs from Houston, all the way up the Eastern Seaboard was completely shut down. It was the company that made the decision to shut down the pipeline, not the hackers. Colonial did it to prevent the malware DarkSide put into their computer systems from impacting their industrial control systems.
This pipeline delivers roughly 45% of the fuel that is consumed on the East Coast, so it’s a big deal, and there were massive gas shortages at stations throughout the East Coast.
Colonial ended up paying a ransom of almost $5 million to get their computer systems back, and the pipeline was expected to be back to normal Monday, but the shortages continue, especially in Washington, D.C.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan reported Sunday that almost 90% of D.C., gas stations were out of fuel.
He also reported that well over 12,000 stations served by Colonial and run empty.
In North Carolina, 60% of stations were dry, and the number is 50% in South Carolina. Georgia was having issues too, with 43% of stations not having fuel to sell.
Joe Biden has said several times since the attack occurred on May 7 that his administration would deal with the DarkSide cyber attack. The world is still waiting to see what that action might be.
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