Wednesday May 12, 2021
Price increase after pipeline hack
US government warns of gasoline panic buying
After a group of hackers sabotaged one of the most important fuel pipeline systems in the US, fuel ran short on the US east coast. The government appeases: The situation should be under control by the weekend.
The American government warns against panic buying of gasoline after the hacking attack on a US pipeline operator. “We ask everyone not to hoard any gasoline stocks. The situation will normalize by the weekend,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. The Biden government believes that Colonial Pipeline’s fuel pipeline system, which was paralyzed by the hacking attack, can be up and running again in just a few days.
Colonial Pipeline supplies fuel to almost half of the American east coast. Numerous gas stations from Florida to Virginia are out of gas. The prices have risen. Rising crude oil and petrol prices could also be felt at German petrol stations. According to the economic data service Refinitiv, European energy traders have secured at least six tankers to deliver gasoline to the United States.
At the weekend, Colonial Pipeline had to shut down its entire pipe network on the US east coast. The company was attacked using so-called ransomware. A virus infects one or more computers and encrypts important data. Hackers then demand a ransom in return for the password to decrypt the data.
The US government is working with Colonial to fight the hacker attack. It is also being examined whether the hacker group “Darkside”, which is demanding an unknown amount of money from Colonial, is connected to the Russian government. According to Colonial, fuel is flowing through some smaller pipes again. The main pipelines are still shut down.
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