Cyber Security

Toshiba Tec France Imaging System said on Friday that DarkSide, the hacking group blamed for crippling a major U.S. pipeline company, had targeted it in a ransomware attack during the night of May 4.

With cyberattacks on the rise, there are measures that businesses, network operators and individuals can take to protect themselves.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Thursday that companies impacted by ransomware attacks should not pay money to hackers following reports Colonial Pipeline made a payment to regain access to some of its systems.

Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at The PRICE Futures Group, said gas prices are “close to getting to a short-term peak because everybody's bought gasoline and put it in their garage” following the Colonial Pipeline shutdown.

The Colonial Pipeline has returned to operations following a cyberattack that snarled gas supply for the eastern U.S. for days, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday meant to strengthen U.S. cybersecurity defenses in response to a series of headline-grabbing hacking incidents that highlight how vulnerable the country’s public and private sectors are to high-tech spies and criminals operating from half a world away.

Fuel shortages that have slammed the East Coast are starting to wind down as the Colonial Pipeline has restarted service following a cyberattack last week by Russian ransomware group DarkSide.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called Wednesday for the heads of critical infrastructure companies such as Colonial Pipeline to be held personally liable for failures to address cybersecurity flaws following a ransomware attack that crippled one of the eastern seaboard’s key fuel suppliers.

The ransomware gang responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack claims it’s driven by money, not politics, and even insists it has a charitable streak.

To free up more fuel for drivers, the EPA waived fuel standards for a dozen states.