Free Republic

A group of cybercriminals allegedly responsible for the ransomware attack that shut the largest fuel pipeline in the United States said on Monday it only wants to make money, not disrupt society, as Washington scrambled to help restore the network....The FBI on Monday pinned the blame on the cyber group DarkSide. A statement in the group’s name said “our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society.” It's statement did not mention Colonial Pipeline by name.

US fuel prices are likely to hit their highest level in seven years after hackers shut down the largest oil pipeline in the US. Before the pipeline hack, average gas prices in the US clocked in at $2.96 per gallon on Friday. Prices were not expected to see another significant spike until after Memorial Day, when travel is expected to push demand even higher at the end of the month, but the oil pipeline hack has already bumped prices up as much as 4.2% on Monday morning. The 5,500-mile pipeline was shut down on Saturday after its operator, Colonial Pipeline,...

The US government declared a state of emergency late on Sunday, lifting limits on the transport of fuels in a bid to keep gas supply lines open after the continued shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline. “This Declaration addresses the emergency conditions creating a need for immediate transportation of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other refined petroleum products and provides necessary relief,” the Department of Transportation said. White House Press Sec Jen Psaki added that “as the Administration works to mitigate potential disruptions to supply as a result of the Colonial Pipeline incident, @USDOT is taking action today to allow flexibility...

The DarkSide hacker gang that is responsible for the devastating Colonial Pipeline attack this weekend is a relatively new group, but cybersecurity analysts already know enough about them to determine just how dangerous they are. According to Boston-based Cybereason, DarkSide is an organized group of hackers set up along the “ransomware as a service” business model, meaning the DarkSide hackers develop and market ransomware hacking tools, and sell them to other criminals who then carry out attacks. Think of it as the evil twin of a Silicon Valley software start-up. Bloomberg first reported that DarkSide may be involved in the...

The U.S. government and the top U.S. fuel pipeline operator on Monday worked to secure the network that transports nearly half of the East Coast's supplies as a shutdown to halt a ransomware cyberattack entered its fourth day. The attack on Colonial Pipeline last week was one of the most disruptive digital ransom schemes ever reported and has sent shockwaves across the industry. The resulting shutdown has disrupted fuel supply across the eastern United States, triggered isolated sales restrictions at retail pumps and pushed benchmark gasoline prices to a three-year high. .... The southeastern United States would likely be the...

ATLANTA - Days after an Alpharetta-based energy company reported a ransomware attack and halted its operations amid an investigation, it's still unclear how consumers will be affected and if a fuel shortage on the East Coast is imminent. Colonial Pipeline moves gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and home heating oil from refineries primarily located on the Gulf Coast through pipelines running from Texas to New Jersey. It is a major supplier of fuel and delivers an estimated 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast. The Georgia-based company said it transports more than 100 million gallons of fuel daily, through...

A cyberattack forced the shutdown of one of the largest pipelines in the United States, in what appeared to be a significant attempt to disrupt vulnerable energy infrastructure. The pipeline carries refined gasoline and jet fuel up the East Coast from Texas to New York. The operator of the system, Colonial Pipeline, said in a statement late Friday that it had shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline, which it says carries 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel supplies, in an effort to contain the attack on its computer networks. Earlier Friday, there were disruptions along the pipeline, but...

Biden is coming under fire for his attack on oil and gas once again as Canada pleads to keep the cross-border Great Lakes oil pipeline open. Canada is battling against the state of Michigan to keep the cross-border pipeline open as calls to enhance the joint response to climate change ... It is important to remember that the U.S. relies heavily on Canada for much of its crude oil imports, consuming around 3.7 million barrels per day, or about 80 percent of Canada's crude output. Line 5 is supposed to close by May 13, ... The pipeline currently provides energy...

Among the many executive orders that Joe Biden issued upon taking office was one that shut down the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, putting tens of thousands of American jobs at risk. He’s had his eye on some other pipeline construction projects as well, a plan that will probably further impede the nation’s oil and gas industry as Biden works to impress his European friends with is climate advocacy. But in a bit of an ironic role reversal, there may be one such project that Biden won’t be bringing to a halt despite a bipartisan demand from the Senate...

During a joint interview with Jens Stoltenberg, the Norwegian secretary-general of NATO, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, fresh from his bout with the Chinese in Anchorage, took on Angela Merkel and the Germans. Issue: Nord Stream 2, the Baltic Sea pipeline Vladimir Putin is building to complement his Nord Stream 1 and carry more natural gas from Russia to Germany, and from there to other NATO nations. The original Nord Stream pipeline, also consisting of two strands of pipe along the Baltic Sea floor, was completed in 2011. In his meeting with Stoltenberg in Brussels, Blinken warned that Western companies...

U.S. Dept. of State calls on cos to stop participating in Nord Stream 2 project, warns of sanctions The U.S. Department of State on Thursday said that any firms involved in implementing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project must stop participating in it unless they want to be subjected to sanctions. "The Department reiterates its warning that any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks U.S. sanctions," U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken said. Blinken has called on every such entity to "immediately abandon work on the pipeline."

A group of red states will file a lawsuit on Thursday against the Biden administration for revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which the president did via executive order on his first day in office, Fox News has learned. The lawsuit, first obtained by Fox News, is led by Montana and Texas, and backed by 19 other states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. It names President Biden and several of his Cabinet secretaries as defendants. The lawsuit...

Jason Jernigan, a laid-off Keystone XL Pipeline worker, told "America’s Newsroom" on Monday that he doesn’t know how he is going to make a living now, saying, "This is all I know how to do." "I spent my whole life learning this craft and this skill and it’s not as easy as somebody might think or people might think to just start all over at 45 years old," Jernigan, with Local 798, said. "I guess I could possibly get a job as a greeter at Walmart, I don’t know." President Biden revoked the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline...

A briefing between the State Department and congressional staff over Vladimir Putin's Russia-Germany gas pipeline got tense this week, with Biden officials deflecting questions about why they hadn't moved faster and more aggressively with sanctions to stop its completion. The Biden officials also denied negotiating with the Germans over a potential side deal to allow the pipeline to be finished.Why it matters: As we reported earlier this week, some allies are worried that Biden is shaky on Putin's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and the fight is a significant test of whether the new president's tough rhetoric against Russia will be...

A 3,300-year-old treasure trove of gold found in northern Germany has stumped German archeologists. One theory suggests that traders transported it thousands of miles from a mine in Central Asia, but other experts are skeptical. Archeologists in Germany have an unlikely new hero: former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. They have nothing but praise for the cigar-smoking veteran Social Democratic politician. Why? Because it was Schröder who, together with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, pushed through a plan to pump Russian natural gas to Western Europe. For that purpose, an embankment 440 kilometers (275 miles) long and up to 30 meters (100 feet)...

“Put him in a body bag.” Did that really happen at a Biden State Department press conference? Did the media push back on an attempt by this administration to take credit for a Trump-era policy? Yes, it happened. And the spokesperson was not too pleased for being called out for this attempted gaslighting of Trump’s Russia policy. The Associated Press’s Matt Lee was not going to allow Biden State Department spokesperson Ned Price to take credit for it, as it was clearly outlined and executed under the Trump administration. Lee is aggressive noting that this is a bit disingenuous, as...

Norwegian Cruise Line provided an update on February 16 and cancelled its sailings through May 2021. NCL also updated guests and travel agents on the state of the cruise ban in Canada, which has severely affected the cruise industry’s plans to sail in Alaska this summer. No Cancelations, Looking at Alternatives In the statement released on the companies website, the cruise line states it will not be canceling any voyages to Alaska. The cruise line will stop taking any bookings for the 2021 Alaska season as it looks to ‘explore several initiatives that may allow such cruises to continue.’ The...

On his first day in office, President Biden canceled permits for the Keystone XL pipeline. Environmentalists and anti-fossil fuel activists should not have applauded his move. After all, Canada will not stop extracting oil from the tar sands of northern Alberta. Instead, it will simply export oil over existing pipelines or to the Pacific Ocean, where the damage from a potential spill would be harder to address. Biden’s cancellation cost jobs and pushes Canada toward greater economic cooperation with China. It also shakes confidence in U.S. business. Who would invest in the country if any future administration can simply renege...

President Biden shutting down the Dakota Access pipeline would result in Americans paying higher prices at the supermarket, according to experts. The Biden administration will decide the fate of the Dakota Access pipeline, which was approved by former President Donald Trump in 2017 after being denied by former President Barack Obama, following a court-ordered environmental review. More than 200 celebrities recently sent a letter to Biden asking him to permanently shut the pipeline due to its impact on the environment and its impact on the Indigenous people who live in the area. The Biden administration did not respond to FOX...

On Monday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki dismissed a reporter’s question on where the American workers who lost their jobs due to Joe Biden’s executive order shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline would get the promised “green jobs” by giving a snarky response as callous and out of touch as anything uttered by Marie Antoinette. “Well, I’d certainly welcome you to present your data of all the thousands and thousands of people who won’t be getting a green job,” Psaki answered. “Maybe next time you’re here you can present that.“In Psaki’s world, government officials are not to be questioned...