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The White House has opened a debate on the merits of companies that pay ransoms for cyber attackers after a group of hackers closed a U.S. oil pipeline over the weekend, highlighting the seriousness of the critical infrastructure threat.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has long held against these payments, claiming that they will encourage more ransomware attacks, which means hackers control a target’s computer or data until they meet their financial demands.
Anne Neuberger, a U.S. national security adviser on cybersecurity and new technologies, said Monday that the Biden administration was “definitely” examining “a general approach to ransomware actors and rescues.”
“Victims of cyberattacks are often in a very difficult situation, and they just need to have balance. . . when they have no choice but to pay the ransom the cost benefit, ”he said, as companies without encrypted backup data often have difficulty retrieving information after the rescue attack.
“That’s why, given the rising trend in ransomware and, of course, the alarming trend we often see for companies with insurance and potentially rich targets, we need to look closely at this area,” Neuberger said.
Ransomware hackers claimed one of their biggest targets on Friday, shutting down 5,500 miles Colonial pipeline a network that transports gasoline, diesel, and aircraft fuels from refineries across the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic coast. The system has the capacity to supply almost 15% of total US liquid fuel demand.
He was identified by the FBI on Monday Dark side, an organization run by Russia by an experienced group of online criminals, because it is “responsible” for endangering Colonial pipeline networks.
“We currently value DarkSide as a criminal actor but, of course, our intelligence community is looking for links to any operating nation-state,” Neuberger told reporters.
Backed by Colonial Pipeline Company, backed by a group of investors including the private equity group KKR and conglomerate Koch Industries, it said it will resume most services by the end of the week while working with carriers. other ways to transport fuels.
The disruption left Gulf Coast refineries with no outlet and forced production to be reduced to 500,000 barrels a day, according to an oil industry expert. S&P Global Plats said some refineries, including Valero in New York, wanted to park the fuel in containers. Valero did not respond to a request for comment.
Neuberger said the Colonial Pipeline company rejected an offer from the federal government to help restore its systems. The White House did not offer “further advice” to the Colonial on whether to pay the ransom, he added.
James Lewis, an expert in cybersecurity at the Center for Strategic Research and the International, said a decade ago the pipeline marked it as a potential cyber security risk, adding that comments from the White House on rescue payments were “acceptance of reality.”
U.S. gasoline markets did not respond well, with June delivery rising just 0.3 percent for future deliveries on Monday to settle at $ 2.13 per liter.
However, if the pipeline does not return to service quickly, tougher price movements could continue, analysts said.
“If consumers panic, prices may really pick up in the coming days,” said Alan Gelder, vice president of refineries and chemicals at Wood Mackenzie. “It will be a lot, I suspect, depending on the evening news in the US.”
Ransomware attacks have proliferated in recent years as it has become an increasingly profitable criminal company, with requests to rescue about $ 100,000 from victims, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Many criminals operate outside of jurisdictions such as Russia, and are unlikely to be prosecuted by the authorities.
Insurers have also been accused of encouraging companies to pay, offering refunds for extortion payments. On Monday, the global insurance group AXA he said in the face of criticism, he would stop writing cyber policies that return payments to French customers.
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