Top U.S. fuel pipeline remains days from reopening after cyberattack

NEW YORK, (Reuters) - The biggest U.S. gasoline pipeline will not resume full operations for several more days due to a ransomware cyberattack blamed on a shadowy criminal network called DarkSide.

The attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which carries nearly half the fuel consumed along the U.S. East Coast, is one of the most disruptive digital ransom schemes ever reported. While the impact remains to be quantified, the pipeline shutdown will reduce fuel availability in the near term, push up prices and force refiners to cut production because they have no way to ship the gas.

The privately owned company said on Monday it was working on restarting 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 believed to be based in Russia or Eastern Europe. Its ransomware targets computers that do not use keyboards in the languages of former Soviet republics, cyber experts said.

President Joe Biden said there was no evidence thus far that Russia's government was involved.

A statement issued in the group's name on Monday said: "Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society." Its statement did not mention Colonial Pipeline by name.

Ransomware is a type of malware designed to lock computers by encrypting data. The hackers demand payment to let the owner regain access. It is unknown how much money the hackers are seeking, and Colonial has not commented on whether it would pay.

Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cybersecurity, told reporters that the Biden administration is not offering advice on whether Colonial should pay the ransom. Colonial on Friday shut its 5,500-mile (8,850-km) pipeline network, which moves fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, to protect its systems.

The episode laid bare the vulnerabilities of energy infrastructure to hackers. U.S. lawmakers responded with calls for stronger protections for critical energy infrastructure.

A spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the attack showed that U.N. member states needed to combat cybercrime to avoid a "devastating impact on the world that we all live in."