Top US fuel pipeline still closed after cyberattack

Fuel shortages, price hikes likely as Colonial works to restore operations

The biggest US fuel 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 US 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 fuel .

The privately owned company said 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 elsewhere in 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 create 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.

Colonial on Friday shut its 8,850km pipeline network, which moves fuels including petrol, diesel and jet fuel, to protect its systems.

The episode laid bare the vulnerabilities of energy infrastructure to hackers.

Colonial restarted some smaller lines on Sunday between fuel terminals and customer delivery points, releasing fuel stored locally to customers.

On Monday, it also began manually operating its 700,000barrel-per-day multiproduct fuel line between Greensboro, North Carolina, and Maryland for a limited time while it has existing inventories.

But its main lines remained shut, and an alternative, smaller conduit operated by Kinder Morgan Inc serving the same region reached capacity.

The outage hit ahead of the summer vacation season, when petrol demand and airline travel tend to peak. Fearing shortages, consumers in the southeastern US rushed to refuel.

Petrol stations in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee saw some panic buying.

The American Automobile Association said the national average gasoline price climbed to $2.96 (about R41.35) a gallon (just under four litres) and could climb to its highest level since 2014.

Florida resident Katina Willey went to several petrol stations before she found one that had fuel available. “There were lines at three of the five stations I tried,” she said.

If the disruption stretches on, fuel suppliers could ship by truck and rail instead.

The department of transportation on Sunday lifted driver restrictions on fuel haulers in 17 states affected by the shutdown.

US fuel importers are booking tankers to bring fuel from Europe.