Vox Sentences - Divided Kingdom

A pipeline that transports almost half of all the fuel consumed on the East Coast has been shut down by a cyberattack; SNP's election victory makes a Scottish independence referendum a matter of "when, not if."

Tonight's Sentences was written by Gregory Svirnovskiy.

• The gas pipeline system responsible for transporting 45 percent of all fuel consumed on the East Coast has been shut down since Friday in response to the largest ever cyberattack on an American oil company. It’s putting a severe strain on the nation’s oil reserves and may cause gas prices to spike. [BBC News / Mary-Ann Russon]
• A Russian hacker group called DarkSide launched the ransomware cyberattack at the start of the weekend, which caused Colonial Pipeline to shut down its pipelines as a precautionary measure. The company is aiming to have all services back in operation by the end of the week, but gas prices could rise as much as 7 cents this week in affected areas. [Intelligencer / Paola Rosa-Aquino and Chas Danner]
• President Joe Biden is considering easing restrictions on gasoline transport across the Eastern Seaboard. The Department of Transportation has issued a regional emergency in 17 states along with the District of Columbia to keep supply lines moving in the Northeast. [Axios / Rebecca Falconer]
• DarkSide issued a statement Monday denying the attack was politically motivated. “Our goal is to make money,” the group said. “And not creating problems for society. From today we introduce moderation and check each company that our partners want to encrypt to avoid social consequences in the future.” [CNBC / Eamon Javers]
• Homeland Security Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall said Monday the attack ought to serve as a wake-up call for private sector companies to shore up their cybersecurity capabilities. "When those companies are attacked, they serve as the first line of defense and we depend on the effectiveness of their defenses," Sherwood-Randall said. [CNN / Kevin Liptak]