NATIONWIDE — A week after a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline caused mass hysteria and fuel shortages on the east coast, U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria announced that she is cosponsoring legislation designed to bolster the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) in their effort to secure fuel pipelines nationwide.
Introduced as a bipartisan effort, the Pipeline Security Act will more closely define the roles of government agencies like the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, in the security of pipelines around the nation. It will also require those agencies to update security guidelines, make plans for staffing those agencies and improve the working relationship between the pipeline’s stakeholders and Congressional oversight committees.
RELATED STORY: UPDATE: Colonial Pipeline announces restart of pipeline operations today
“The cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline made it clear that we cannot afford the cost of inaction when it comes to securing our nation’s infrastructure,” Luria said. “We cannot let bad actors, or groups that are allied with malign regimes, attack American companies with impunity.”
The Colonial Pipeline stretches 5,500 miles and supplies almost half of all gasoline and jet fuel consumed on the east coast. It was completely shut down for five days starting May 7, in an effort to control damage caused by a ransomware cyberattack launched by a cyberhacking group based in Eastern Europe.
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