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,
Over the past few months, ransomware attacks have not only hit businesses of all sizes, but also hospitals in New York, Nebraska, Oregon, and Michigan, among multiple other states. Police and sheriffs offices, schools, and local governments, from Atlanta to Baltimore to Fisher County, Texas, have suffered a similar fate.
A recent report from the Ransomware Task Force, a group of 60 cybersecurity experts from industry and government, sheds light on both the alarming increase in the frequency of these attacks and the ransom size they demanded.
In 2020, it estimates $350 million in ransom was paid to attackers – a more than 300 percent increase over the previous year – with an average payment of over $300,000.
The Departments of Homeland Security and Commerce are working to help businesses prevent and respond to ransomware attacks, write Secretaries Mayorkas and.