Gas shortages spanning across the East Coast this week sent Americans with gas-fueled vehicles into panic following a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline by DarkSide, a Russian hacker group. Colonial Pipeline is the largest pipeline in the United States as it transports 45% of fuel used on the East Coast.
According to the White House, President Biden is receiving briefings on the situation and has directed federal agencies to provide their resources to minimize shortages.
Addressing concerns, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday, “It’s not that we have a gasoline shortage, it’s that we have this supply crunch…things will be back to normal soon.”
The cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline follows the Biden administration’s decision to exclude fund that would protect the US from cyberattacks in his $2 trillion infrastructure package.
The unprecedented attack on one of our nation’s largest pipelines “is a play that will be run again, and we’re not adequately prepared,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. DarkSide reportedly demanded millions in ransom payments from the United States.
Former President Donald Trump reacted on his new blog, From the Desk of Donald J. Trump, slamming Biden for creating “crisis after crisis.”
“I see that everybody is comparing Joe Biden to Jimmy Carter. It would seem to me that is very unfair to Jimmy Carter,” Trump said. “Jimmy mishandled crisis after crisis, but Biden has CREATED crisis after crisis.”
Trump continued, “First there was the Biden Border Crisis (that he refuses to call a Crisis), then the Biden Economic Crisis, then the Biden Israel Crisis, and now the Biden Gas Crisis. Joe Biden has had the worst start of any president in United States history, and someday, they will compare future disasters to the Biden Administration—but no, Jimmy was better!”
After nearly a week of controversy surrounding the hacking, Colonial Pipeline has reportedly begun operating again Wednesday evening following the Russian cyberattack.
However, gasoline has vanished in many southern regions. 64 percent of gas stations in North Carolina remain out of fuel, while nearly 45 percent of stations in Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia fare the same.
Colonial Pipeline said in a statement on Wednesday that “all lines, including those lateral lines that have been running manually, will return to normal operations,” Associated Press reported. The company expects it will take several days for deliveries to resume as normal.
Although it appears that the pipeline was able to regain control, it is unclear exactly how the cyberattack was resolved.
