The Colonial Pipeline is performing normal operations once again after being targeted for a cyberattack that cut off the gas supply for most of the eastern United States for several days.
“Following this restart, it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal,” Colonial Pipeline said in a statement. “Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue to experience, intermittent service interruptions during the start-up period.”
“Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel as is safely possible and will continue to do so until markets return to normal,” the statement added.
The hackers demanded millions in ransom money which the pipeline operator refused to pay. Help from the Department of Energy soon stepped in as well as federal, state, and local authorities. Deputy Energy Secretary Dave Turk said the company has already resumed partial operations under manual control.
Colonial said safety would be its “primary focus” following the restart. The pipeline operator will conduct a series of safety assessments to comply with federal guidelines.
“This is the first step in the restart process and would not have been possible without the around-the-clock support of Colonial Pipeline’s dedicated employees who have worked tirelessly to help us achieve this milestone,” the company said.
We just got off the phone with #ColonialPipeline CEO. They are restarting pipeline operations today at ~5pm. More soon.
— Secretary Jennifer Granholm (@SecGranholm) May 12, 2021
The ransomware attack has been credited to Russian hacking group Darksideand targeted a 5,500-mile pipeline that moves 100 million gallons of fuel a day, which’s about half of the East Coast’s supply.
Last Friday, the pipeline was forced to shut down some systems to counter the ransomware attack. This caused fuel deliveries to come to a screeching halt and triggered panic among the public much like the toilet paper shortage we experienced at the beginning of the pandemic.
A state of emergency has been declared by several governors in response to the crisis.
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