The US energy business should have learnt to be wary of the power of the DarkSide. After numerous warnings, it suffered its most disruptive cyber attack two Fridays ago when the Colonial oil pipeline was shut down after a ransomware attack, suspected to be from this gang. Cyber security needs to be improved but that alone is not enough: the energy industry needs broader resilience to such threats.
The pipeline brings refined oil products – petrol, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel – from the Texas refining complex to meet 45 per cent of consumption on the US East Coast, ultimately supplying New Jersey, New York and other states.
Hackers exfiltrated 100 gigabytes of data and then demanded payment to unencrypt the company's files. Colonial's operational systems were not affected but it shut down pipeline flows – either to prevent further dissemination or, as it now appears, because it could not bill customers. A $5 million ransom was paid to the hackers, according to Bloomberg.
Federal and state governments temporarily waived fuel quality standards and restrictions on hours and weights for road tankers. Traders booked tankers to bring refined products from Europe.
Some refiners were granted exemptions from the Jones Act, an outdated and pernicious law that requires all trade between American ports to be carried out by vessels built and flagged in the US and manned by Americans.
Nevertheless, petrol stations began to run dry: by Thursday evening, according to consumer service Gas Buddy, between half and two thirds of Georgia, Virginia, South and North Carolina were out of fuel. This was exacerbated by limited deliveries from distribution centres as tanker trucks themselves could not secure diesel, as well panic buying.
Indeed, shortages in southern Florida seem mostly to be due to hoarding as the state is primarily supplied by barges, not Colonial's network.
The company resumed pipeline flows on Thursday but it will probably take one to two weeks before service returns to normal in all areas. For the first time in six years, petrol prices rose above $3 a gallon during the interruption but, overall, the effects on demand will be slightly negative.
This is the most disruptive cyber attack in the US to date but far from the first for the energy industry. Electricity and gas pipeline companies have suffered intrusions in recent years that were either aimed at extortion or probing vulnerabilities. The US Department of Energy was one of the victims of the Solarwinds cyber espionage discovered in December.
The famous Stuxnet virus, strongly suspected to be the work of the US and Israel, damaged Iranian centrifuges in 2009 and 2010, setting back its uranium enrichment programme. The National Iranian Oil Company experienced a cyber attack in April 2012. That August, the Shamoon virus, possibly linked to Iran, wiped 30,000 computers at Saudi Aramco.
Several Saudi petrochemical companies have suffered cyber attacks since then while the Ukraine energy grid was also compromised, resulting in power cuts.
These, along with hacks on or by North Korea, are all known geopolitical flash points while growing hostility between the US and China is another. Cyber attacks have great attractions. They are deniable, difficult to identify – making it hard to apprehend perpetrators – while the damage can be gradated short of war. A group such as DarkSide could be a criminal enterprise but it could also be similar to Elizabethan privateers who were licensed by the state to attack its enemies. State agencies could use the cover of extortion attempts to conduct espionage or plant sabotage bugs.
Perhaps the surprise is not how devastating cyber attacks have been but how little damage they have done so far. There has not been serious and prolonged disruption or major physical damage or loss of life. DarkSide’s ransom from Colonial sounds like something Dr Evil would do – disconcerting his henchman by asking for only $1m.
But any of the conflicts mentioned, or others, could turn into more overt confrontations or a hacking group might go too far. Energy infrastructure – essential, exposed, expensive and explosive – is an obvious target.
Surveys suggest that energy cyber security is weak and characterised by inadequate passwords, outdated versions of Microsoft Exchange, employees who are easily duped into clicking on suspicious links, operational systems that are not properly "air-gapped" from the internet and a lack of "war games" to simulate cyber crises.
However, security improvements will not be enough – not against increasingly skilful, well resourced and motivated criminals and state-backed hackers. Digitisation and automation, remote working and operations, drones, the Internet of Things and the electrification of an economy powered by fossil fuels promise greater efficiency, cost savings and environmental gains. But they also expand vulnerabilities.
The Colonial incident exposed several major weaknesses in US energy security. Strategic petroleum stocks are nearly all along the Gulf of Mexico coast and not near other big consumption centres. The East Coast relies on a single system for about half of its petroleum demand. There are no mandatory pipeline cyber security regulations. Logistics faces the circular paradox of needing fuel to deliver fuel. The dead hand of the Jones Act constrains alternatives and there is no way to stop panic buying.
Many other countries would turn out to have similar or deeper flaws when seriously tested. February’s Texas ice storm, although not a cyber attack, highlighted the need to have electricity to deliver gas to generate electricity, and for both to make heat to keep people alive and water flowing.
Greater resilience involves a mix of improved cyber security, tougher infrastructure, duplication and back-ups, diversity of energy sources and delivery methods, more effective regulation and government powers of intervention, better accounting for human behaviour and stronger recovery plans.
Cyber attacks on energy systems will probably become more frequent, more ingenious and more disruptive. Several warnings have passed, fortunately without too much damage, but now it is time to act.
Robin Mills is chief executive of Qamar Energy and author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis
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Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
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Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
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The years Ramadan fell in May
RESULT
Australia 3 (0) Honduras 1 (0)
Australia: Jedinak (53', 72' pen, 85' pen)
Honduras: Elis (90 4)
AT%20A%20GLANCE
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
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The Cockroach
(Vintage)
Ian McEwan
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Company%20Profile
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
BLACKBERRY
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Meydan Racecourse racecard:
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 | 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 1,600m
8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,600m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 2,000m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,600m.
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner: Walton Street, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Switzerland, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Lord Giltters, Adrie de Vries, David O’Meara
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) $228,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm Al Fahidi Fort Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Land Of Legends, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
10pm Dubai Dash Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner Equilateral, Frankie Dettori, Charles Hills.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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