A state of emergency has been declared after a on the largest energy pipeline in the United States.
A major pipeline shut down on Sunday (May 9th) has raised fears of a fuel shortage. The US government has declared a state of emergency to keep supplies flowing, according to the BBC and the Financial Times.
The colonial pipeline supplies 2.5 million barrels of fuel per day. That’s 45 percent of the diesel, gasoline and jet fuel supplied to the East Coast.
It has been declared completely shut down following an attack by a cybercriminal gang on Friday. Repairs are currently underway.
It will be possible to transport fuel by road due to an emergency. Experts say fuel prices will rise two to three percent on Monday. But if it continues for a long time, the situation will get worse.
Various sources have confirmed that a group of cyber-criminals named Dark Side carried out this ransomware attack. On Thursday they infiltrated the colonial network. Later about 100 GB of data was taken, hostage.
The data is seized and stored on several computers and servers. On Friday, they demanded money in return for these. If not, it threatens to leave the Internet.
Colonial says they are working with law enforcement agencies, cyber-security analysts and the energy ministry to normalize supplies.
While the Dark Side is not the world’s largest gang of cyber-criminals, the fact that not only the national industrial infrastructure, but also businesses are at risk of ransomware.
