Press Releases

Rep. Ralph Norman (SC-5) issued the following statement on Tuesday in response to the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, which led to the current gas shortages throughout the southeast:

"The latest information we have as of this (Tuesday) morning is that Colonial Pipeline expects to have service to its primary lines restored by this weekend. However, it’s important to remember that’s only a rough estimate, and is certainly subject to change. Once service is fully restored, it will likely take a few additional days before shortages at gas stations start to ease. In the meantime, experts are advising motorists to be patient, avoid 'panic buying' at the pump, and consider reducing or eliminating unnecessary travel by car until gas supplies return to normal.

"The bigger issue here is from a national security standpoint. This was a catastrophic cyber-attack by what appears to be Russian hackers, who took advantage of either a weakness or vulnerability in Colonial Pipeline’s computer systems to install ransomware. This serves as yet another reminder to business and government leaders that cybersecurity efforts must be a high priority within their organizations. While not all attacks can be prevented, many investigations ultimately reveal (after the fact) that the attack could have been prevented."

Rep. Norman serves on the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee.