Colonial Pipeline attack – what’s the rest of the story? Urgent answers needed

A few years ago, the files of the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management were compromised. My personal records were accessed and taken by some foreign player. While very alarming, the real-world effect on those who had their information compromised has been harder to quantify.

This attack is very different. American motorists in many states were not able to fill their tanks because their local gas station had run out of gas. Several states declared states of emergency and long, winding gas lines formed at stations that did have gas available.

In the world of cyberwarfare this is a major shift in tactics. This is a highly visible attack that affected the lives of average Americans going about their daily routines.

Getting to the rest of the story will be very difficult, but getting it is absolutely vital so that the United States can respond appropriately against those responsible.

As the former Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, I know this “rest of the story” analysis is happening right now. As Americans, there are a series of questions we should want our elected officials to answer right now.

Was this an isolated event or are there other ransomware or cyberattacks that the perpetrators have prepared to escalate the crisis? Could this be more than a just one off? Why did the Russian hackers move to such a visible and disruptive strategy?

If, and I agree with General Keane, the Russian government was aware of this attack, what are they trying to accomplish? What do they believe the consequences will be? It seems they have made the calculation that however the United States will respond, the benefits will be much greater to them.

Is this President Putin testing the resolve of the Biden administration? Every new administration is tested early on by Russia, China, Iran, and others to get a measure of what they can do. Or is this more a message that says you are extremely vulnerable, we know it, so be careful in the steps you take in any major foreign policy area that affects us?