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News > U.S.

US Declares Emergency After Cyberattack on Major Oil Pipeline

  • A major pipeline that supplies 45% of fuel used on the U.S. East Coast could be back in service by the end of the week after a cyber attack by hackers hoping for ransom money forced the Colonial Pipeline to shut down Friday.

    A major pipeline that supplies 45% of fuel used on the U.S. East Coast could be back in service by the end of the week after a cyber attack by hackers hoping for ransom money forced the Colonial Pipeline to shut down Friday. | Photo: Twitter/@ajplus

Published 10 May 2021
Opinion

Colonial Pipeline said the hackers have asked for money—in an undisclosed amount—to free its computers.

The United States government declared a state of emergency on Sunday to deal with the paralysis of the fuel transportation network due to a cyberattack against the company that manages the largest pipeline on the East Coast of the United States.

With the decree, U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the transportation of fuel by road to avoid energy shortages due to the closure of Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline network in the country, due to a cyber-attack, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.

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Trucks transporting gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and other products to 17 states in the southern and eastern United States and the District of Columbia will now be able to circulate without time restrictions.

Colonial Pipeline, the leading U.S. pipeline operator, confirmed Saturday that it shut down its entire network, the source of nearly half of the U.S. East Coast's fuel supply, because of a ransomware-type cyberattack.

The company said hackers had demanded money - in an undisclosed amount - to free its computer systems.

Cybersecurity firm Coveware revealed that in 2020 victims of these cyber-attacks had to pay an average of $310,000 to unlock their computers.

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