© Provided by Washington Examiner The Department of Transportation announced a regional emergency declaration after a gas pipeline was hit with a cyberattack over the weekend.
The department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued the distress call in a Sunday statement, just two days after they learned it was the victim of a ransomware attack. The company took part of their systems offline, specifically the Colonial Pipeline, at the time they announced they had been the subject to a cyberattack.
"USDOT's top priority is safety, and while current circumstances dictate providing industry flexibility, FMCSA will work closely with its state and industry partners to monitor driver work hours and conditions for the duration of the exemption," the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
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Drivers and motor carriers who are providing assistance to states during the unexpected disruption are mainly exempt from Parts 390 through 399 of Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations, per the emergency declaration. However, this only is in effect when drivers are transporting goods such as gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel, which were all impacted by the hack.
The states affected by the hack include: Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
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FMCSA's emergency declaration will be in place until June 8 at the latest, though it could be lifted earlier if it's no longer necessary.
The Colonial Pipeline, which is about 5,500 miles of pipelines, is normally responsible for transporting 45% of the East Coast's fuel supply, and it moves 2.5 million barrels of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other refined products daily, the company said.
Tags: News, Oil, Pipelines, Cybersecurity
Original Author: Mike Brest
Original Location: Department of Transportation announces regional emergency declaration for victims of gas pipeline cyberattack