Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack: Shutdown Leaves Consumers Scrambling for Gas After Hack

A hacking group that is believed be based out of Eastern Europe has been involved in a cyberattack that resulted in the shutdown of the main pipeline that supplies gasoline and diesel fuel for the Eastern Coast of the United States. The Biden administration and other officials in the U.S. and globally condemned the attack and acknowledged cybersecurity as an increasing problem globally.

The Colonial Pipeline was forced to halt the company’s operations after the hackers gained accessed to its computer systems. The group in question, known as DarkSide, is a recently formed hacking group based in Eastern Europe — with many speculating that they could be in Russia.

“So far, there is no evidence from our intelligence people that Russia is involved,” President Biden stated recently while addressing the cyberattack. “Although there is some evidence that the actors’ ransomware is in Russia. They have some responsibility to deal with this.”

DarkSide responded to many of the headlines circulating about the group by releasing a statement on the dark web which denied any ties to a foreign government and claimed that their goal is solely to make money.

“We are apolitical, we do not participate in geopolitics,” The statement read. “Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society.”

The White House has stated their growing concern over ransomware and the need for more investment in a critical infrastructure to protect systems from emerging cyberattacks, but the concerns for the White House are currently stretching further than just cybersecurity.

As a result of the pipeline shutdown, drivers along parts of the East Coast have been scrambling to stock up on gas, with many waiting over an hour in lines at gas stations in order to fill up their tanks. Over 6% of gas stations in the state of Virginia are reportedly out of fuel, according to GasBuddy, with similar trends taking place in Florida and North Carolina.

Prices had been steadily rising leading up to the attack as the economy reemerges from the pandemic, but the last week has shown significant increases in the price of a regular gallon of gas. Should that trend continue, the national average could reach $2.99, which would be the highest gas prices have gone up since late 2014.

Ransomware attacks — which costs can range from millions of dollars to tens of millions — have increasingly been used to target critical systems, such as hospitals, schools, government agencies and departments, and elsewhere. Colonial is just the latest example and the company stated that the situation is continuing to evolve but that they have a plan to return from the shutdown in phases, with the objective of “substantially restoring operational service by the end of the week.”

According to reports, the FBI recently sent out an internal bulletin, seeking any information or knowledge about DarkSide. The FBI, however, has not responded to requests for comment on the internal bulletin. The FBI has reportedly been investigating DarkSide and its ransomware code for some time, inside sources have alleged.

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