Pipeline companies needs to comply with new Homeland Security regulations or risk high fines starting at $7,000

May 28, 2021 09:43 GMT  ·  By

The Department of Homeland Security has released the first cybersecurity rule for the pipeline industry.

The legislation, released Thursday morning, is part of the Biden administration's attempts to strengthen the security of the nation's infrastructure following a ransomware attack earlier this month on a company that controls the nation's largest fuel pipeline.

Colonial Pipeline halted all pipeline operations after it was hacked by a group thought to be Russian cybercriminals who locked some of its computers and demanded a ransom to unlock them.

While Colonial was able to resume operations within 5 days, the cyberattack had already become one of the most significant in American history. The U.S. issued an emergency order allowing truckers to work overtime to help transport fuel, and gas to stations across the country.

Although the Department's Cybersecurity Division advises Homeland Security and Infrastructure Security Agency, there is the little direction from the federal government that they must have even basic cybersecurity precautions in place.

The new legislation requires about 100 pipeline operations to always have a cybersecurity coordinator on call and to report any incident to the cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within 12 hours.

Pipeline companies who fail to comply with the new laws will face penalties 

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday night, a senior DHS official, who asked not to be identified, indicated that pipeline companies that violate the new rules will face escalating fines that start at about $7,000.

The Homeland Security official explained, “There are financial penalties associated with failure to comply with security directives, and those can be imposed on a daily basis, so they can ramp up pretty significantly over time”.

According to another official on the press call, Thursday's regulation was merely the first of several new measures for the pipeline business.