[NFA] The White House was working closely with top U.S. fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline on Sunday to help it recover from a ransomware attack that forced the company to shut a critical fuel network supplying populous eastern states.
Freddie Joyner has more.
U.S. government officials were working closely with one of the nation’s largest pipelines on Sunday to help it recover from a major ransomware cyberattack that forced the pipeline operator to shut a critical fuel network that supplies gas and jet fuel to the country's populous eastern states.
The attack is one of the most disruptive digital ransom operations reported and has prompted calls from American lawmakers to tighten protections for critical U.S. energy infrastructure against hackers.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday said Washington was working to avoid more severe fuel supply disruptions and to help Colonial Pipeline restart its pipeline network as quickly as possible.
RAIMONDO: "It's an all hands on deck effort right now and we are working closely with the company, state and local officials, to make sure that they get back up to normal operations as quickly as possible and there aren't disruptions in supply." Colonial transports roughly 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline and other fuels from refiners on the Gulf Coast to consumers in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States.
While the government investigation is in the early stages, a former U.S. official and two industry sources said the hackers are likely a professional cybercriminal group and that a group called DarkSide was among potential suspects.
