Gas Attack
The energy sector has become a staple in the headlines during the pandemic. First came the lockdowns mixed with the Saudi-Russia oil war, and then oil went negative, and then the EV market exploded, and then energy consumption started to come back. Yes, there has been a lot. However, the sector is changing completely, with fossil fuels starting to die down as the world is moving towards renewable energy to fight climate change. Now, fossil fuels and gas are still in high demand, so you can imagine what a cyberattack would do.
The US has experienced many cyberattacks in the last few months, the most notable one being the SolarWinds hack perpetrated by Russia, which infiltrated many government organizations and led to a massive data breach. Many countries perform cyber hacks on other organizations or adversaries to gain an advantage, or to damage them through offensive cyber operations. This time, Russian group DarkSide performed a hack on a key pipeline in the United States. This pipeline is owned by Colonial Pipeline, and it holds special importance because it carries almost half of the fuel supplies for the East Coast as it stretches from New Jersey to Texas. Colonial refused to say when the pipeline would reopen, which presented many problems.
If the pipeline doesn’t open in time, it could send gas prices soaring along the East Coast. In general, gas prices rose by 4.2 percent on Monday, but many analysts predict that if the shutdown is continued, prices would continue to rise. Along with that, many airports along the East Coast rely on the pipeline for their jet fuel, namely the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and the Charlotte International Airport. It is very likely that a continued shutdown would deeply hurt these airports, and many flights could be delayed or canceled. Furthermore, oil prices also saw an increase, and many commodity indices were up on the day. If a prolonged shutdown occurs, it could affect the stock market in a negative way, so many hopes that Colonial can reopen the pipeline in the coming days. What do you think about this cyberattack?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
