Cybersecurity
Hackers Find Easy Prey as U.S. Ignores One Warning After Another
- Recommendations have been disregarded, decisions punted
- Colonial Pipeline hit during Biden campaign against ransomware
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The ransomware attack that shut down the nation’s biggest fuel pipeline prompted an all-too familiar question in the corridors of power in Washington and boardrooms across the country: Can anyone stop debilitating hacks?
The assault on Colonial Pipeline Co. last week was a particular affront. Not only did it disrupt fuel distribution on the East Coast, it followed an effort by the Biden administration to act against cyber crime -- especially ransomware, where criminals remotely disable a computer system and demand payment. Colonial was hit on day 37 of a 60-day push by the Department of Homeland Security to confront such attacks.