Published: Monday, May 17, 2021
Colonial pipeline tanks, President Biden, Transportation Security Administration badge. Credits: Drew Angerer/Getty Images (Colonial pipeline tanks); T.J. Kirkpatrick-Pool/Getty Images (Biden); Joe Raedle/Getty Images (badge)
A cyberattack on the Colonial pipeline last week is raising numerous questions about whether the Biden administration and industry are protecting the nation's energy infrastructure. Drew Angerer/Getty Images (Colonial pipeline tanks); T.J. Kirkpatrick-Pool/Getty Images (Biden); Joe Raedle/Getty Images (badge)
For years, cybersecurity experts, intelligence officials and lawmakers have warned about the high-stakes threat of a ransomware attack on U.S. critical infrastructure.
But it wasn't until this month's ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline Co. that the real-world impact became tangible. The cyberattack by the DarkSide ransomware gang forced the Georgia-based company to shut down its entire 5,500-mile pipeline system, which supplies nearly half the fuel used along the U.S. East Coast. The hack exposed vulnerabilities in U.S. defenses and has already been dubbed a wake-up call for the Biden administration.