OPINION:
In May 2021, Americans received a stark reminder that the infrastructure powering our country is not immune to attack.
A ransomware group known as DarkSide infiltrated the computer systems of the Colonial Pipeline, the largest refined fuel pipeline in the United States. Out of caution, the company shut down operations across its entire system while it worked to contain the breach.
The consequences were felt almost immediately.
Colonial Pipeline operates a 5,500-mile network stretching from Texas to New Jersey, carrying gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to markets across the eastern United States. Every day, the system moves roughly 2.5 million barrels of fuel, supplying nearly 45% of the gasoline and diesel consumed along the East Coast.
When that system stopped moving fuel, even temporarily, the effects rippled across more than 12,000 gas stations and impacted tens of millions of Americans.
Within days of the shutdown, drivers lined up for miles to fill their tanks, and panic-buying spread across several states. The national average gasoline price climbed to levels not seen since 2014, while some states saw increases of more than 20 cents in a single week.
For many Americans, it was the first time they realized just how much their daily lives depend on energy infrastructure that operates quietly in the background.
But what made the Colonial Pipeline attack particularly alarming was not just the disruption itself; it was how it happened.
The attackers never physically touched the pipeline.
Cybercriminals believed to be operating out of Russia gained access to Colonial’s computer network using a compromised password and deployed ransomware designed to lock the company out of its own systems until a ransom payment was made.
In other words, criminals thousands of miles away disrupted one of the most critical energy systems in the United States using nothing more than a laptop and malicious code.
That reality should concern every American. The Colonial Pipeline attack revealed that the systems we depend on every day are no longer threatened solely by physical sabotage or traditional acts of war; They are also vulnerable in cyberspace.
Energy infrastructure has always been vital to the strength of our economy, but the 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack showed just how equally important it is to our national security. Pipelines move the fuel that powers our cars, trucks, airplanes, farms and factories. Refineries turn crude oil into the gasoline and diesel that keep commerce moving. Ports and terminals carry that energy to communities across the country and markets around the world.
The Colonial Pipeline attack revealed what happens when one link in that chain is disrupted. Brief interruptions to a single system can spread quickly across the country. When fuel deliveries slow, transportation costs rise. When prices increase, families feel it at the pump. And when uncertainty spreads across energy markets, the effects are felt throughout the broader economy.
Nearly five years later, the lesson learned from the Colonial Pipeline attack is undeniable: cybersecurity is inseparable from energy and national security.
President Donald Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America recognizes this reality and places securing critical infrastructure at the center of our national cyber posture. One of the strategy’s key priorities is Pillar Four: Secure Critical Infrastructure. This pillar focuses on identifying, prioritizing, and hardening the systems that power our country, including pipelines, energy grids and the digital networks that support them.
That same mission is driving action in Congress.
My Pipeline Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, a bipartisan effort with Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., designates the Department of Energy to lead pipeline cybersecurity preparedness and response, strengthen coordination and improve information-sharing, all without adding new regulatory burdens.
Because what we saw in 2021 cannot happen again.
The United States possesses one of the most advanced and productive energy systems in the world. From the energy fields of Texas and the refining complexes along the Gulf Coast to the pipelines that move fuel to communities across the country, this network remains a pillar of American strength.
But if we are going to retain that strength, we must remain vigilant in cyberspace.
The infrastructure that powers America must be protected with the same seriousness we devote to protecting the nation itself.
That means strengthening cybersecurity across our energy infrastructure now. Not tomorrow. Today.
• Rep. Randy Weber is a public servant, proven conservative, former small business owner, and third-generation Texan representing the 14th District of Texas. In Congress, he serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has the broadest jurisdiction of any legislative committee in Congress. Weber also serves on the Science, Space and Technology Committee.
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