Russian Group ‘DarkSide’ Behind Recent Pipeline Cyberattack

A group of hackers from Russia is believed to be behind the recent pipeline cyberattack. The group known as ‘DarkSide’ launched a ransomware cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline on Friday forcing it to shut down temporarily. Over the weekend, the White House formed an interagency working group to prepare for various scenarios including whether or not additional steps needed to be taken to mitigate any potential impact on fuel supply. On Sunday the Colonial Pipeline Company said it’s working to develop a restart plan for the system which is still shut down. In a statement yesterday the company said it’s main lines are still offline but some smaller lines between terminals and delivery points are operating. They added that they will bring their full system back online when they believe it’s safe to do so with approval of federal regulations.

According to the company, the Department of Energy is leading the federal government response and the FBI and Department of Homeland Security were also engaged in the response. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation tanker truck drivers will be allowed to work longer hours after a federal emergency declaration was put in place in the East and Gulf Coasts as they will be transporting gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products to 17 states and Washington D.C.