WHEN WILL FUEL SUPPLIES GET BACK TO NORMAL?
Colonial restarted its pipeline late Wednesday, which means fuel is now running between refineries in Houston and Southeast states. But it will take a few days or weeks for everything to get back to normal.
Gas stations in the Southeast should be open for business and well supplied next week, but only if the pipeline operates as planned and consumers stop hoarding fuel, said Richard Joswick, global head of oil analytics at S&P Global Platts. When the panic passes, people will have full tanks and demand will drop, but “people have to be convinced that they don’t have to panic buy,” Joswick said.
Cyber-Ransom Of $5m Nothing To Colonial Pipeline, Which Has Paid Hundreds Of Millions In Dividends To Billionaire Koch Family forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WASHINGTON The nation’s largest fuel pipeline is flowing again after the company that runs it was hit by a gang of hackers. But long lines remain at gas stations throughout the Southeast. That’s because drivers are buying more gasoline than they need, draining supplies at filling stations. Plus, there are logistical hurdles slowing fuel deliveries from the Colonial Pipeline.
The incident was one of a series of wake-up calls about the growing threat hackers pose to the nation’s critical infrastructure. Ransomware attacks, where hackers demand large sums of money to decrypt stolen data or to prevent it from being leaked online, have hit thousands of businesses and hundreds of health care centers in the U.S. in the past year.