Yahoo FinanceIt’s been nearly a week since Colonial Pipeline was hit by a ransomware attack, taking out a critical gas pipeline that ferries gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel from Texas to New Jersey — and causing dire gas shortages spurred by panic buying.The Colonial Pipeline attack isn’t the first of its kind, but its scale is notable. The shutdown has sent the cost of gasoline soaring, with prices rising to their highest levels in nearly eight years, just when the economy is starting to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

This is far from the last ransomware attack we’ll see, but it should be the one that spurs the Biden administration into serious action. President Joe Biden needs to make fighting the rise of ransomware his top cybersecurity priority, as attackers increasingly go after crucial infrastructure like pipelines and even hospitals.

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