America’s biggest gasoline pipeline is unlikely to resume significant operations for several days due to a ransomware cyberattack that Washington on Monday blamed on a shadowy criminal network called DarkSide. The attack on the Colonial Pipeline between Houston and New Jersey, which provides nearly half the fuel to the US East Coast, is one of the most disruptive digital ransom schemes ever reported.
The privately owned company on Monday said it was working on re-starting in phases with “the goal of substantially restoring operational service by the end of the week.”
The FBI attributed the cyberattack to DarkSide, a group cyber experts say may be based in Russia or Eastern Europe. Its ransomware targets computers that do not use keyboards in the languages of former Soviet republics. But US President Joe Biden said there was no evidence so far that Russia was involved in the attack.
Ransomware is a type of malware designed to lock computers by encrypting data and demanding payment to regain access. It is unknown how much money the hackers are seeking.
Colonial on Friday voluntarily shut its 5,500-mile pipeline network, which moves fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, to protect its systems. The closure triggered fears of retail gasoline price spikes, shortages and travel disruption.
A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the attack showed that UN member states needed to combat cybercrime to avoid “devastating impact on the world that we all live in.”
Colonial restarted some smaller lines on Sunday between fuel terminals and customer delivery points. But its main lines remained shut,. This has created concerns in energy markets ahead of the summer vacation season, when gasoline demand and airline travel tend to peak. The American Automobile Association said the national gasoline price average climbed 6 cents on the week to $2.96 a gallon, the highest since May 2018.
If the disruption stretches on, fuel suppliers could ship by trucks and rail instead. The Department of Transportation announced emergency measures on Sunday, lifting driver restrictions on fuel haulers in 17 states affected by the shutdown.
US fuel importers are also booking at least six tankers to ship gasoline from Europe to US destinations following the attack.
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