Due to a gasoline shortage caused by the Colonial Pipeline hack, gas stations from Florida to Atlanta and Virginia are shutting their pumps, and the governor of North Carolina has declared a state of emergency.
Gas shortage possible amid Colonial Pipeline cyberattack
According to CNBC, American Airlines is adding stops to two of its long-haul routes, including the trans-Atlantic route from Charlotte, NC to London, as well as the Charlotte-Honolulu flight. When the ransomware attack was conducted on Friday evening, the corporation shut down the 5,500-mile pipeline. On Monday, service was eventually reinstated.
The ransomware attack also impacted at least 12 other businesses. The pipeline supplies 45 percent of all fuel needs on the East Coast, including Atlanta Airport, which is the world's busiest in terms of passenger traffic. The pipeline connects 90 military facilities and 26 oil refineries in the United States.
On Monday evening, commuters began to complain about gas station shortages. Race Trac, which owns and operates gas stations in Atlanta, confirmed the shortage to WSBTV-2.
Bloomberg announced that at least two gas stations in Tallahassee, Florida, were totally out of stock. Patrick de Haan, an energy expert who operates the tracking site GasBuddy Tracker, said that 5% of gas stations in Virginia are running out of gas.
Gas prices in the Georgia region are expected to increase three to seven cents per gallon this week, according to AAA, and there could be poor fuel supply in some areas. The governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, said the state of emergency would help residents brace for future shortages.
Motorists in Atlanta reported having to fuel up at three separate gas stations on Twitter. A WLOS reporter in North Carolina talked with a cashier at a gas station in Robbinsville where the pumps were dry.
The pipeline, which is the longest in the US, transports more than 100 million gallons of fuel a day, or 2.5 million barrels, through pipelines that run between Texas and New Jersey. Trucks carrying emergency fuel and diesel supplies from Texas are now making their way to Atlanta and other southeast cities. Airlines flying out of Philadelphia International Airport are depleting jet fuel supplies, but a spokeswoman said the airport has enough to last a couple of weeks.
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FBI identifies criminal group behind Colonial Pipeline hack
DarkSide, a Russian-based hacker group, is suspected of being behind the attack. The group issued an apology on the dark web on Monday, stating that they did not seek social repercussions or political control, Daily Mail reported. The Russian criminal group known as DarkSide, which is responsible for the attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline, has stated that their only goal is to make money, not to cause chaos, as experts warn that if the country's largest fuel pipeline remains shut down, gas prices could rise to $3 per gallon.
The FBI announced on Monday that the attack on Colonial Pipeline, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey and transports 45 percent of the East Coast's fuel supply, was carried out by DarkSide, a Russian hacker group made up of ransomware veterans. DarkSide, which promotes a Robin Hood stereotype of robbing businesses and donating a portion of the proceeds to charity, said in a statement released on the dark web on Monday that their main intention was to make money, not to cause social problems.
Despite claims that they want to prevent chaos, analysts have cautioned that the Colonial pipeline outage last Friday might cause significant damage and lead to a rise in gas prices the longer it is offline. Colonial has stated that it hopes to resume operations by the end of the week after being forced to shut down all of its pipeline operations on Friday due to a ransomware cyberattack.
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