In an effort to bolster transparency and accountability, the U.S. government will be telling oil pipeline operators to report network breaches. This comes after the Colonial Pipeline was shut down without discussion with the government. Former head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command Mike Rogers said, “The answer cannot be, we’re going to shut everything down” following a successful attack.
The new regulations will be backed by the penalty and enforcement authority of the TSA, a division of the DHS. Previous security guidelines were on a voluntary basis, with no teeth to them. It is hoped that these regulations will avert future gas shortages and panic.
