Drue Pearce, former Deputy Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, gives her view on what changes should result from the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack. hen Colonial Pipeline announced on 8 May 2021 that it had shut in its entire pipeline system due to a ransomware attack, most residents in the twelve states and District of Columbia that are served by the Colonial system did not expect to be impacted. But just as panic-buying and hoarding resulted in wide-spread shortages of toilet paper when Americans were first told to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fear of fuel shortages exacerbated by media and social media reports caused nervous drivers to create gridlock at gas stations from Houston to northern New Jersey. By 12 May, even as Colonial restored operations and announced fuel delivery timelines, the frenzy resulted in reports of at least 12 000 gas pumps being completely dry. By 17 May, fuel outages persisted in many affected states and gas prices hit their highest prices in six years, according to AAA data. GasBuddy reported that five states and the District of Columbia were still experiencing fuel outages of at least 10% on 1 June. Few situations strike the same level of fear and angst in Americans as the specter of an empty gas tank. From Barrow to Key West, whether we are filling cars, pickups, snow machines, or boats, we insist upon having the ability to travel where we want, when we want. People on the west coast anxiously asked state leaders whether they would be impacted by the shortages and airline passengers across the nation were concerned that upcoming flights might be cancelled. America was mesmerised by fuel gauges. Americans were horrified by spiking prices at the pump. Cybersecurity events have dramatically increased over the past two years, with triple digit percentage increases in attacks on the retail and healthcare sectors as well as double digit increases in
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