The recent cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline is a wakeup call in more ways than one. Not just about the lack of cybersecurity in our infrastructure, not just about how vulnerable we are to malicious hackers, but also how we really need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels.
As soon as news of the attack got out, demand for gas spiked, as people topped off and hoarded, making the situation worse. (Putting gasoline in plastic bags? Stupid and foolish – as well as illegal. What’s wrong with a Jerry can?) Prices jumped at many stations, sometimes enough to constitute price gouging. People are probably rethinking travel plans, since this affects airplane fuel as well. Public transit looks a little more attractive.
Some people may recall the gas pinch in 2008 after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike damaged refineries on the Gulf Coast. Drivers waited in line for hours; occasionally, fisticuffs broke out. People followed tanker trucks like ducklings. 911 operators got sick of people calling to ask where they could find gas.
The shutdown of the Colonial pipeline and resulting fuel pinch will have wide-reaching consequences. It supplies 45% of the Southeast’s gasoline and aviation fuel, which means that other shortages are looming. Lack of fuel hurts commercial transportation, which means many goods will be in short supply. As the hoary old saw says, if you bought it, a truck brought it. Even locally made goods contain materials transported from somewhere else.
If we got all of our energy from renewable sources, hackers would be less of a concern. Imagine if our homes and businesses were all solar and/or wind powered. Decentralized energy is far less vulnerable to evildoers than a single pipeline supplying a hefty portion of the petrol for a region.
Meanwhile, we need to improve the cybersecurity of our infrastructure. Ransomware attacks are particularly nasty because nearly always the victim has the choice of ponying up or losing vital data and computer systems. Colonial Pipeline has, reportedly, paid the ransom to the DarkSide crime ring, which will just encourage other cybercriminals to make similar attacks. Also, countries that harbor cyberterrorists and do not crack down on these villains need to be held accountable.
In the short run, we need to shore up our infrastructure against assaults such as the one loosed on Colonial Pipeline. In the long run, we need to kiss oil and other limited, unrenewable energy sources good-bye. President Biden’s Green New Deal will set us on that path.
10 Responses to “SOUND OFF! 5/15/21 In the Pipeline”
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Excellent points Freya. Back when Carter was President and OPEC held us hostage, I remember emergency powers were used to tell us what days we could get gas based on our license plate numbers/letters to minimize the lines, similar to having designated watering days based on address under drought conditions to reduce demand at any one time. Sounds like that kind of policy may become needed for emergencies until we get our 100% transition.
Yes, Darkside received the ransom – and yesterday, lost most of it, along with control of its server. But Freya’s point is still good. It’s nice to be able to get back, and we can hope this will be a deterrent, but it would be even nicer to be able to prevent such attacks in the first place.
I look forward eagerly to all or even mostly renewable enrgey – not that I expect to see it, even though we do have the technology – but I feel pretty confident that digital technology will be involved in the delivery it it, whatever the initial source. And that means we ignore digital security at our peril.
It appears to me that the concept that if we do not defend and save democracy, wie will be doomed to authoritarianism. I’m beginning to think that if we do not successfully support and defend democracy, we will be doomed to extinction.
I hope you’re right, Joanne, that DarkSide’s victory turned out to be Pyrrhic. Maybe it was good work by the Good Guys, maybe it was karma, maybe it was poor planning on their part.
I’m glad to know that people are enjoying my Sound Off! postings. Lately I’ve garnered enough material for at least two more, and found some old writings that are still pertinent and need just a little polishing or updating.
I linked to the Darkside articl e in today’s personal update – not the original, but it links to the original – I linked to the Readers Digest version I know we’re all busy.
Thrilled to hear you have more material – and I’m sure more will, so to speak, materialize as time goes on.
Excellent points taken, and ways to protect, fix and guard the cybersecurity of our infrastructure(s) so
this doesn’t happen again.
Great post, Freya.
Thank you!
I like the postings, as well, Freya.
I did not know about the turnaround regarding the bastards; nice!
If one of the countries harboring these folks is Russia, there will be no consequences for them. And, I’m sure there are other countries that would coddle the criminals, if not encourage them.
We do need a decentralized, green system, period.
Excellent posting, Freya.
It gets to be frustrating to hear and read of these type of cyber attacks happening, especially when they deal with vital companies that provide major goods and services to us.
We just went thru one here with Scripps Health. Patients who were suppose to have operations, health services, like Chemo, or regular doctor visits were all cancelled for a entire week. I hope with what President Biden is currently working toward with his new team; creating a stronger infrastructure to avoid these type of attacks from ever happening again.
It’s an absolute MUST.
I’m happy to read what Joanne mentioned regarding the Dark Side.
Thanks Freya
Thanks, Freya, for another excellent article.
The fuel shortage in America almost went unnoticed here, perhaps because they wanted to let sleeping dogs lie. Australia is just as dependent on fossil fuel as America and our government won’t do anything to wean us off it, for instance by promoting electric cars. I think we have the lowest sale of them in the Western world.
Freya, there is certainly a need I have had ransomware threats to make my online sexual activity public unless I deposit funds to a bitcoin account. Of course the attack was a phishing SCAM as my online sexual activity does not exist.
I think pipeline shutdown is a great example of why we need electric vehicles with locally sourced electric recharging nationwide….