The ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies 45% of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel to the east coast, was only one of hundreds. There were 200 million ransomware attacks last year in the United States, up 62%, causing billions of dollars in losses.
On Monday, President Joe Biden promised to go after the criminals, identified by the FBI as the Russia-based group DarkSide, while noting he had no evidence Russian President Vladimir Putin had knowledge of the attack.
In a statement on its website, DarkSide said it is “apolitical” and that outsiders “do not need to tie us” with any government. But many Biden administration critics dismissed that.
IT security specialist Morgan Wright said he believes it’s time for Congress to legislate that companies pay greater attention to the threat and impose tougher security measures. Doug McKelway has more.
