The Pipeline Hack Demonstrates How Utterly Dependent We All Are
It doesn't take much to throw everything into a frenzied panic, it seems. A pipeline goes down for a week or two and the entire northeast is threatened with a shutdown. Even outside of the affected area, people are panic buying gasoline, as though it will suddenly disappear forever. We are not good with anything that seems like an potential emergency, really.
When COVID threatened, people emptied stores of toilet paper and other paper goods, creating a senseless shortage of a product that had nothing to do with the pandemic. It took months for supplies to return to normal, because people hoarded a product that, while essential, was not actually in short supply.
Similarly, people are still trying to use up the gallons of hand sanitizer they purchased at the beginning of the Pandemic. Gallons. Purell disappeared from every shelf almost instantly. People hoarded it, so it was unavailable in just days.
So, a pipeline computer management system got infected by a ransomware attack. That will be corrected in a week or so. But, people panicked, as they always do, and rushed to buy as much gasoline as they possibly could. You know, just in case, see...
Collectively, we're not very bright, I think. We could do better, but we won't.
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