VIDEO - GoLocalProv | East Coast Faces Gas Price Spike Due to Ransomware on Pipeline, Raimondo Says Attacks More Often

Monday, May 10, 2021

GoLocalProv News Team

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Raimondo appeared on Face the Nation

The ransomware attack that hit the

largest U.S. fuel pipeline over the weekend exposed how cybercriminals pose a major threat to America’s vulnerable energy infrastructure.

The implications are significant for the country and especially for the Northeast which is expected to see gasoline prices spike.

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“Colonial Pipeline Co. closed its entire 5,500-mile conduit carrying gasoline and other fuels from the Gulf Coast to the New York metro area Friday as it moved to contain an assault that involved ransomware, code that holds computer systems hostage. So far, no evidence has emerged that the attackers penetrated the vital control systems that run the pipeline, according to people familiar with the matter,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

Colonial Sunday night issued a statement, “On May 7, Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack and has since determined that the incident involved ransomware. Quickly after learning of the attack, Colonial proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat. These actions temporarily halted all pipeline operations and affected some of our IT systems, which we are actively in the process of restoring.”

“Leading, third-party cybersecurity experts were also immediately engaged after discovering the issue and launched an investigation into the nature and scope of this incident. We have remained in contact with law enforcement and other federal agencies, including the Department of Energy who is leading the Federal Government response,” said the company.

Raimondo Says this is the First of Many Cyberattacks

This security breach is of deep concern to the Biden Administration who are warning this may be the beginning of many attacks.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo appeared on Face the Nation on Sunday and warned that this type of cyberattacks may become more frequent.

“This is what businesses now have to worry about, and I will be working very closely with Ali Mayorkas [Secretary of Homeland Security] on this. It's a top priority for the administration. Unfortunately, these sorts of attacks are becoming more frequent. They're here to stay and we have to work in partnership with businesses to...secure networks, to defend ourselves against these attacks,” said Raimondo.

“As it relates to Colonial, the president was briefed yesterday. It's an all-hands-on-deck effort right now. And we are working closely with the company, state and local officials to, you know, make sure that they get back up to normal operations as quickly as possible and there aren't disruptions in supply,” added Raimondo.

"Many machines that control pipelines, refineries and power plants are well past their prime, have few protections against sophisticated attacks and could be manipulated to muck with equipment or cause damage, cybersecurity experts say, according to the Wall Street Journal. "The 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline system carries roughly 45% of gasoline and diesel fuel consumed on the East Coast.” 

Colonial said that “Maintaining the operational security of our pipeline, in addition to safely bringing our systems back online, remain our highest priorities. Over the past 48 hours, Colonial Pipeline personnel have taken additional precautionary measures to help further monitor and protect the safety and security of its pipeline.”

“The Colonial Pipeline operations team is developing a system restart plan. While our mainlines (Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4) remain offline, some smaller lateral lines between terminals and delivery points are now operational. We are in the process of restoring service to other laterals and will bring our full system back online only when we believe it is safe to do so, and in full compliance with the approval of all federal regulations, added the company.

”At this time, our primary focus continues to be the safe and efficient restoration of service to our pipeline system, while minimizing disruption to our customers and all those who rely on Colonial Pipeline. We appreciate the patience and outpouring of support we have received from others throughout the industry,” concluded Colonial in its statement.

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