The Vital Importance of Pipeline and Transmission Infrastructure to Decarbonization - Energy Law Insights
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Policy Minute: TSA Cybersecurity Roadmap for Pipelines
Earlier this month the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”), the U.S. federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) whose mission is to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from...more
The Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) has issued an amended directive on pipeline security, SD-Pipeline-2021-02D (the “Directive”). The Directive is based on and supersedes the...more
Last year Colonial Pipeline halted one of the United States’ largest pipeline systems due to a ransomware attack. Within days a state of emergency was declared in 17 states. A few days later the pipeline resumed service, and...more
A proposed $1M civil penalty against Colonial Pipeline for its procedural failures during a ransomware attack could indicate what’s in store for critical infrastructure operators who fail to keep employees up to date on how...more
Federal agencies have been actively looking at cyber threats to critical infrastructure. In a January 27 announcement the White House said: “it will extend the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cybersecurity Initiative to the...more
Privacy In Focus®- In 2021, cyber gained prominence as a top business risk and national security concern with ransomware attacks wreaking havoc on business operations and critical infrastructure. Companies large and small,...more
Cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure systems are nothing new. But events over the last few years have been notable due to the seemingly increased frequency of successful attacks and the way those attacks have been...more
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on July 20, 2021, reversed two decades of pipeline cybersecurity policies. Having previously advocated for voluntary pipeline cybersecurity standards, the TSA quickly issued...more
Following a series of major ransomware attacks, including against Colonial Pipeline, which provides the East Coast with 45 percent of its gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, President Biden issued a National Security Memorandum...more
The increased concern about ransomware incidents from both quantitative and severity standpoints, spurred the White House to urge corporate business leaders to improve their defenses and resilience posture against ransomware...more
On March 18, 2021, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) announced three new research programs that are “designed to safeguard and protect the U.S. energy...more
You just can’t make this stuff up – the Justice Department, displaying its growing sophistication of the cyber world, announced it recovered most of the ransom paid to criminal hackers of Colonial Pipeline Co. (Colonial)....more
There is a growing clamor in Congress and the Executive Branch to do something after the Colonial Pipeline incident and other high-profile cyber-attacks. Rushing to impose broad new obligations is perilous. Policymakers...more
In an unusual and exciting twist to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that it was able to retrieve $2.3 million of the $4.4 million paid by Colonial Pipeline to...more
On May 10, 2021, the hacking group DarkSide succeeded in shutting down the Colonial Pipeline with a ransomware attack that highlighted the vulnerability of the U.S. energy sector to cyberattacks. The attack led to a panic...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a security directive (Directive) that, for the first time, imposes mandatory cybersecurity requirements on companies in the pipeline industry. ...more
In the wake of the May 2021 ransomware attack on a major US oil pipeline, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has released a security directive (the “TSA Directive”) to...more
The Biden Administration is zeroing in on cybersecurity. In the wake of a high-profile wave of cyberattacks, including the SolarWinds supply chain attack and the more recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, President...more
On May 27, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced a Security Directive that will enable DHS to better identify, protect against, and respond to threats to critical...more
On May 27, 2021, against the backdrop of the Colonial Pipeline cybersecurity incident, the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) announced Security Directive Pipeline-2021-01...more
Beyond causing long lines and shortages at the gas pump, the cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline this month may have important implications for federal contractors. As part of the federal government’s response, President Joe...more
On May 27, the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration announced a Security Directive designed to “better identify, protect against, and respond to threats to critical companies in the...more
On May 12, President Biden issued Executive Order 14028 focused on improving the nation’s cybersecurity posture. The order follows the recent cyberattack on one of the nation’s largest pipelines, Colonial Pipeline, in which...more
Colonial Pipeline shut down 5,500 miles of its East Coast pipeline on May 7, 2021, in an effort to contain a security breach resulting from a ransomware attack. Colonial’s pipeline is one of the nation’s largest and carries...more
The cyber landscape is changing once again, in terms of impact, policy and potential exposure. In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline hack, the Biden administration released a long-awaited Executive Order intended to strengthen...more