An oil pipeline that supplies the East Coast of the United States with 45% of its gasoline has been shut down following a cyberattack by a ransomware group. On Friday, the operators of the Colonial Pipeline fell victim to the DarkSide hacking group, who now claim that its actions were apolitical. “Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society,” the group posted today.
As a result of the shutdown, the U.S. government has issued an emergency waiver relaxing regulations on the commercial motor vehicle transport of gasoline and other petroleum products in the affected areas. The exact method that the cyberattack used to infiltrate the pipeline operator remains unknown.
