On Monday, The US government and the top fuel pipeline operator in the United States worked to secure the network that transports nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel supplies, as the group suspected of a ransomware cyberattack that caused it to shutdown last week said it was just trying to make money.
The attack on Colonial Pipeline is one of the most disruptive digital ransom schemes reported and the resulting shutdown has disrupted fuel supply across the eastern United States, triggering isolated sales restrictions at retail pumps and pushing benchmark gasoline prices to a three-year high.
A news release issued on Monday in the name of the cyber group DarkSide, the group suspected of the attack on the pipeline, said, “our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society”. Its statement did not mention Colonial Pipeline by name.
Lawmakers urged stronger protections for critical US energy infrastructure, and the White House has made restarting the fuel network a top priority and organised a federal task force to assess the impact and avoid more severe disruptions.
New York’s WTI crude and London Brent oil gain 0.8pc after the pipeline was put out of action.
