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Interesting article I saw this morning re cybersecurity/ransonware and the pipeline...apparently Colonial was not practicing basic security hygiene. Pipeline cybersecurity
Last night, my wife and I drove around Alpharetta and Roswell and visited stations that were reported as having fuel according to gasbuddy, and NONE of the six we visited had fuel. It's a pretty sad state of affairs at the moment.
With all due respect, that might be an ambiguous statement. Where do you draw the line? The criminal mind, when the Devil is leading it, often knows no bounds. No matter what is done to try and stop hackers, they can (and sometimes do) find new ways around it.
To draw an analogy to something you know, while planes can still crash with them, should we not have regulated inspections and rules for maintenance?
while hackers are very devious, companies/organizations could still be required to pass certain tests of cybersecurity, have strong password mechanisms, use secure encryption methods, etc. companies that don't do basic things endanger themselves and others.
Colonial was CLEARLY negligent and should be held accountable, but they won't be.
Just a word of caution, Folks. I'd be careful about buying gas at any station that has not had a delivery for a while. Reason?....unless the underground tanks are brand-new, or reasonably new, or have been cleaned lately, they are likely to have dirt, water, and debris in them lying on the bottom. If the gas level in them gets very low, and the tank is not filled up, and you pump that residual gas into your vehicle, it is likely to take some that water and debris into your own fuel tank with it. Yes, the filters in the vehicle's own fuel system and tank are supposed to prevent that from reaching the engine, but they can also become clogged. That is why I also strongly recommend not refueling at any station that has a tanker re-filling one of the tanks until at least five minutes after the tanker is finished, to give the water and dirt time to settle back to the bottom of the tank.
In aviation, for example, that is one thing that is checked on pre-flights. Aircraft fuel-tanks and plumbing have special drain-valves in them where you drain out a small amount of fuel into clear containers, and check for visible dirt and/or water-bubbles in the fuel. The fuel is dyed certain colors (according to fuel-grades) to verify that it is the proper fuel for the aircraft, and so that you can make out the clear water-bubbles in it. Those of you who are pilots or ground-crew members will be familiar with what I'm describing.
This is done for obvious reasons.....in a plane, unlike an auto, you cannot simply pull over to the side of the road and stop if the engine (s) quit.
Interesting article I saw this morning re cybersecurity/ransonware and the pipeline...apparently Colonial was not practicing basic security hygiene. Pipeline cybersecurity
As a technology professional (in this case a software engineer), I definitely feel somewhat compelled to judge the company based on failing to keep up with security. It's sort of a cornerstone of creating a sustainable, trustworthy business. Having said that, it also drags down business goals I guess. It can be hard to justify to the business leaders that some time needs to be taken out of expanding or introducing new features to make sure security measures are in-place and up-to-date. It's always a question of how much time and money they want to spend on something that, in their minds, doesn't bring in new revenue. However, I'd look at it like spending money on insurance - to avoid even bigger expenses later.
Whoever the jerks were that carried out this hacking, apparently they have demanded ransom.
Supposedly (?), the pipeline got off to a slow re-start at 5 PM EDT today. Perhaps the engineers found a way around the ransom and were able to ignore it.
was that really necessary? at least we have gas. VA appears to have 50% stations with no gas. we're at 14% mostly in panhandle. zero issue where i am in central FL.
was that really necessary? at least we have gas. VA appears to have 50% stations with no gas. we're at 14% mostly in panhandle. zero issue where i am in central FL.
Sorry Bit, was more of a joke, removed. Most of Florida also doesn't get its gas from the colonial pipeline and should truly not have any impacts from this shutdown.
Ok but if the gas was in proper gas cans, what started the fire?
Not sure, but goes to show that even with "proper" containers how dangerous it is. If he filled them up in the car vs placing them on the ground, etc., I think any static charge amongst the containers could have been an issue.
05-13-21 | 07:26 AM
The criminal mind, when the Devil is leading it, often knows no bounds. No matter what is done to try and stop hackers, they can (and sometimes do) find new ways around it.
