By Brittany De Lea at FOXBusiness
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday, May 17, announced that he was signing a law intended to penalize local governments that do not keep up with cybersecurity training requirements one week after a ransomware attack shut down a major
In a video message posted on his Twitter account, Abbott said it was states’ job to safeguard against cyberattacks, particularly those that can affect residents and critical infrastructure like the Colonial
A cyber attack shut down the Colonial Pipeline and caused havoc for people trying to get gasoline.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 17, 2021
States must safeguard against those attacks.
I’m signing a law that penalizes government entities in Texas that fail to comply with cyber security training requirements. pic.twitter.com/MeIw9k3lfY
It was not immediately clear what penalties would be instituted for failure to comply. A spokesperson for Abbott’s office did not return FOX Business’ request for
Colonial Pipeline resumed operations late last week after a criminal enterprise known as DarkSide targeted it through a ransomware attack. The company shut down its systems in order to contain the threat, causing fuel shortages in certain areas along the
The national price of gasoline increased
The Biden administration has also taken measures to address the situation, announcing its intent to form a task force to crack down on hackers responsible for
The president noted that the government was going to pursue efforts that would interfere with the ability of ransomware networks
Those actions came one day after the president signed an executive order to improve the nation’s cybersecurity, calling for collaboration between the public and private sectors to strengthen practices, roll out technologies and
Bloomberg News first reported on Thursday that Colonial had paid