Biden signs cyberorder to shore up federal security after pipeline hack

Published May 12, 2021 12:00am ET



President Joe Biden on Wednesday ordered an overhaul of federal software systems and the contractors that supply them, days after a ransomware hack shuttered the largest petroleum pipeline between Texas and New York.

The Biden administration has grappled with a slew of high-profile cyberattacks since taking office, involving the SolarWinds breach by Russian intelligence and another targeting flaws in some Microsoft email software attributed to Chinese hackers. This week, at gas stations up and down the East Coast, drivers waited hours to fill fuel tanks as the Colonial Pipeline outage crept into a sixth day before the federal government helped the company back online.

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