Thursday, October 16, 2025

 

Out of Gas

The following is based on an actual cyber attack that came to light in May 2021. It has been dramatized for purposes of narration

At Emily’s Home in Durham, NC

Emily investigated the contents of her freezer. She normally went grocery shopping on a Thursday, but with less than half a tank of gas, she did not want to take the risk. Gas pumps all over town had run dry. There was talk of tankers arriving at a station close to the highway, but chances were they would run out by the time she got there. Best to conserve and make do with whatever supplies she had on hand.

At Colonial Pipeline

Computer screens across the data centers read, “Your files are encrypted by DarkSide”. Some screens included a demand for ransom to decrypt the files. The IT Team systematically set about isolating computer networks with a view to salvaging some part of the system. They were unsuccessful. They couldn’t tell yet how or when the intruders had taken control of their system. They could see though that every single operations process had been compromised. This was not their worst nightmare coming alive, simply because they had never imagined such a scary scenario was even possible.  Within 2 hours, the Data Center director had informed her boss that that the systems managing the 5000-mile pipeline that delivered gas to pumps from New York to Georgia were unreliable. At the Executive Meeting convened shortly thereafter, the CEO shut down the pipeline that delivered more than half the fuel consumed in States along the East Coast. It would result in an extreme fuel crisis, as this was one of the 2 feeders to gas stations across the East Coast states. 2 decades earlier, this CEO had the led the effort to convert fuel supply to “just-in-time” eliminating the cost of distributed storage for a dramatic reduction in cost. Now, with the pipeline shut down, gas stations would receive half the supply needed on a daily basis. Government agencies, including the FBI and White House were engaged. The company also opened a channel to discuss the US$4.4M ransom demanded by DarkSide.

At DarkSide

The room was dimly lit. The tables were arranged in several concentric half arches. Every table was covered with computer screens, each one of them covered with text that was being constantly updated. At the center of the innermost arch a person huddled over a large monitor. He wore large headphones over his ears and spoke into a microphone that he projected out of them. “Phases 1, 2 and 3 are now complete. Very well done! We now enter the final phase of our operation. It looks like our ransom will be accompanied by some close scrutiny by the Feds. Team 4 what is your assessment ?” A synthesised voice came back into his ears, “They cannot come anywhere near us in 6 of our 11 stations. We have a high risk of exposure at 2 stations, medium to low at the other 3 our agents are in place, if the Feds are able to secure cooperation from the international agencies we’re SOL. There has been no cooperation among many of these agencies for the last 40 years. I’d estimate risk of being detected at 4 of 10.” “That will be all then. Next touchpoint at 18:00 GMT”, he said, and signed off.”

At the White House

“7 states have declared emergencies because more than 70% of their gas stations are now out of gas. The rest expect to hit that mark later today. The Department of Energy has authorized emergency fuel transportation by truck and rail and the EPA has temporarily waived fuel quality regulations. We are working with the State Governments and private sector partners to help us get relief immediately. The FBI is looking into the money trail, and expect to have a concrete update   in the next 24 hours.  

At Emily’s Home in Durham NC

An alert from her neighbourhood community app NextDoor chirped on Emily’s phone. “Gas now available at the Hillendale Gas station and at Costco”. With a sigh of relief, Emily grabbed her purse and entered the garage. It had been an anxious 4 days without going out. One more day and she would have been out of milk and bread.

At DarkSide

It was a little more than ninety days since Colonial’s Gas Pipeline had been attacked. The ground was being prepared for a foundation for an office building. Large earth moving equipment littered the scene. A man with a hoodie sat in a pickup truck nearby. He looked at his phone as it vibrated. It took a few seconds to decrypt it. It read, “All footprints removed from CP. FBI got to 3 of our transfer agents. Lost 2.3M.”  He deleted both messages then drove away.  

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