The largest
gasoline and diesel pipeline in the U.S. abruptly shut down Friday after a
cyberattack, and the shutdown could affect gas prices if it drags on, according to one expert.
Colonial Pipeline Co. operates the 5,500 mile Colonial Pipeline system taking fuel from the refineries of the Gulf Coast to the New York metro area. The attack appeared to involve ransomware, where the attacker seizes control of computer systems to demand a payoff.
"If supply is not restored in near future, what’s going to happen is you're going to have more demand for gasoline than supply, and it will drive the prices," Yury Dvorkin, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, told FOX Business in an interview.
The pipeline transports more than 100 million gallons a day, or roughly 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast, according to the company's website. It delivers fuels including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and
heating oil and serves U.S. military facilities.
"Gasoline is a market commodity, and the price determined by equilibrium of supply and demand. The result of this attack is now supply is limited, but demand keeps increasing because the economy keeps recovering. With every day coming, more Americans commute to work, more Americans reconvene normal economic activities so the demand increases as result." (Fox)
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