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Homeland Security Chief Vows Government-wide Response to Colonial Pipeline
Cyberattack

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security(DHS)is leading a
   governmentwide response to thecyberattackthat shuttered the largest
   fuel pipeline in the United States last week, sparking concerns about
   gasoline shortages.

   Testifying before the Senate Appropriations CommitteeonWednesday,DHS
   Secretary Alejandro Mayorkassaid the Biden administration is
   considering invoking a range of emergency authorities to
   ensurethatgasoline carried by ships reaches the
   regionsadverselyimpacted by the Colonial Pipeline's shutdownlast
   Friday.

   "We're working at the direction of the president in an
   all-of-government way to address the cybersecurity threat that Colonial
   suffered and that other businesses and institutions across all our
   country all are vulnerable to," Mayorkas said.

   The Colonial Pipeline system was forced to shut down its entire network
   along the U.S. East Coast in the wake of a ransomware attack claimed by
   a cybercriminal gang known asDarkSide.Colonialsaid Wednesdayafternoon
   it was restarting operations,but the company expects "it will take
   several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to
   normal."
   Tanker trucks are parked near the entrance of Colonial Pipeline Company
   on May 12, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C.

   DarkSidefirst surfaced last August, and its creators and affiliates
   have since launched a globalcybercrimespree in more than 15 countries,
   accordingtothecybersecurity firm FireEye. Anne Neuberger, deputy
   national security adviser for cyberand emerging technology, told
   reporters on Monday that the FBI has been tracking the group since at
   least October.U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating whether the
   gang has ties to the Russian government or other nation-states,
   Neuberger said.

   The FBI says it does notadvisepayinga ransom to cybercriminals, and
   Colonial hasnotsaid whether it has made such a payment.

   Mayorkas said the ransomware attack ontheU.S. pipeline operator,which
   moves nearly half of the East Coast's fuel,was of the type
   hehadrecently warned American business leaders about.This sort
   ofhigh-stakeshacking,he added, "has galvanized, correctly, our
   attention."

   In April, the Justice Department set up a task force dedicatedto
   combating ransomware, part of a broader Bidenadministration effort to
   counter cyberthreats. The task force coordinatesgovernmentwide efforts
   to identify and disrupt ransomware attacks.

   Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told therecentMunich Cyber Security
   Conferencethat last year was the worst ever forransomwareattacks, with
   victims incurring billions of dollars in losses. She added that she
   hadordered a 120-day review of how the Justice Department tackles
   cybersecurity challenges.

   Working with community organizations and law enforcement agencies, the
   rebranded center will ensure "our prevention efforts are grounded in an
   approach to violence prevention that leverages behavioral threat
   assessment and management tools and addresses early-risk factors that
   can lead to radicalization to violence," Mayorkas said.

   Mayorkas testified alongside Attorney General Merrick Garland on
   domestic violent extremism.

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