The hackers who organized the cyberattack on the largest American pipeline company, Colonial Pipeline, may be linked to Russia. It is reported by CNN, citing its sources among ex-security officials.
Earlier it was reported that a group of hackers DarkSide may be involved in the attack. According to a CNN source, it allegedly “comes from Russia”, but its members do not carry out attacks in Russian-speaking countries.
As a result of the cyberattack, the pipeline, which provides fuel to 45% of the population of the US East Coast, was suspended. According to experts of the Bloomberg agency, the attack on the Colonial Pipeline could lead to disruptions in fuel supplies in the United States, as well as an increase in gasoline prices to their highest levels in seven years.
The US Department of Transportation imposed a regional emergency in several states in connection with a cyber attack to prevent disruptions in the supply of petroleum products.
“This emergency is caused by an unexpected shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline system due to network problems, which affected the supply of gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and other refined products in the affected states”, – the US Department of Transportation said in a statement.