US State of Emergency Declared: Cyberattack Shuts Down Fuel Pipeline, Chaos Erupts in SE by Daisy Luther for The Organic Prepper
The United States is currently in a state of emergency…again.
This time, it is due to an alleged massive cyberattack leveled against the Colonial Pipeline. The result is the shutdown of virtually the entire Pipeline. Though the event happened days ago, it was not until yesterday that panic began to set in. In a flurry of panic buying, the Southeast United States stands on the precipice of running out of gas.
Maybe having a bicycle as prepper transportation isn’t such a crazy idea after all.
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FBI pins Pipeline cyberattack on the relatively new but well-known hacker group
A few days ago, DarkSide, a hacker group that often steals from major corporations and gives a cut to charity, hit the Colonial Pipeline with a major cyberattack. The FBI claims to have been investigating the group since 2020.
CNBC News said this about DarkSide:
The DarkSide hacker gang that is responsible for the devastating Colonial Pipeline attack this weekend is a relatively new group, but cybersecurity analysts already know enough about them to determine just how dangerous they are.
According to Boston-based Cybereason, DarkSide is an organized group of hackers set up along the “ransomware as a service” business model, meaning the DarkSide hackers develop and market ransomware hacking tools, and sell them to other criminals who then carry out attacks. Think of it as the evil twin of a Silicon Valley software start-up.
The FBI has confirmed the use of ransomware to disable the fuel pipeline.
The Colonial Pipeline transports gasoline and other fuels through ten states between Texas and New Jersey. The pipeline transports around 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast.
State of emergency declared by U.S. Government
The U.S. government declared a state of emergency late on Sunday. The government lifted limits on the transport of fuels by road to keep the gas supply lines open.
“This Declaration addresses the emergency conditions creating a need for immediate transportation of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other refined petroleum products and provides necessary relief,” the Department of Transportation said.
White House Press Sec Jen Psaki added that “as the Administration works to mitigate potential disruptions to supply as a result of the Colonial Pipeline incident, @USDOT is taking action today to allow flexibility for truckers in 17 states.”
Now, panic sets in
One source located in the Southeast told me that everything was normal when he went to buy gas at lunchtime. However, between his lunch break and the end of the workday, mainstream media spun into overdrive. MSM hyped the cyberattack and the possibility of a fuel shortage.
As a result, panic buying ensued around 5 pm. By 7:30, there were no gas stations in the region with any gas left to sell. By 9 pm, traffic on typically busy highways had fallen silent. Some stations replenished by fuel trucks were entirely out of gas again only three hours later.
