Colonial Pipeline restarts after hack caused six-day shutdown, US fuel shortage
- The company took systems offline after a ransomware attack, prompting high prompt prices and panic buying
- Authorities have blamed the hack on DarkSide, a group linked to Russia or Eastern Europe
The largest petrol pipeline in America is returning to service, recovering from a cyberattack late on Friday that raised pump prices and choked fuel supplies across the eastern US.
The Colonial Pipeline – a critical source of petrol and diesel for the New York area and the rest of the East Coast – was being restarted around 5pm Eastern time, the operating company said in a statement. The Alpharetta, Georgia-based company said over the weekend it was forced to take systems offline on May 7 in response to a ransomware attack.
The news comes as petrol stations are running dry from Florida to Virginia. In parts of the US South, three in every four petrol stations had no fuel as of Wednesday, while in Washington, cars were lining up for blocks as they waited to fill up.
US pump prices have topped US$3 a gallon for the first time in six years. Colonial each day normally ships about 2.5 million barrels (105 million gallons), an amount that exceeds the entire oil consumption of Germany.
The disruption underscores just how vulnerable America’s fuel supply system has become in the wake of increased attacks on energy infrastructure by hackers over the past few years.
