US Government Orders Strengthened Cybersecurity to Prevent Recurrence of Oil Pipeline Hacking Incident

Fuel storage tanks of Colonial Pipeline in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The U.S. government has issued a cybersecurity enhancement order to major pipeline companies to prevent the recurrence of pipeline hacking incidents.

According to foreign media on the 27th (local time), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has instructed owners and operators of major pipeline facilities to immediately report any cybersecurity issues to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and to assign dedicated cybersecurity personnel on a 24-hour basis.

If the owners or operators of pipeline facilities fail to comply with this order, they may be fined at least $7,000 (approximately 7.82 million KRW) per day.

This is the first time that the U.S. government has taken measures to strengthen security management of pipelines at the national level.

This measure appears to be in response to the ransomware attack by the hacker group 'DarkSide' on Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline operator in the U.S., which halted operations on the 7th. Colonial Pipeline is responsible for about 45% of the oil supply to the U.S. East Coast, and the suspension of its oil supply dealt a significant blow to gasoline availability in the U.S.

At that time, U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned the possibility of Russia being behind the incident, stating that Russia bears some responsibility for the situation.