Texas Gov. Abbott signs cybersecurity compliance law after Colonial Pipeline hack

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday 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 U.S. pipeline.

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 Pipeline incident.

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 additional information.

COLONIAL PIPELINE CYBERATTACK: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

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 East Coast. 

The national price of gasoline increased 6.4 cents per gallon from one week ago to $3.03 as of Monday, according to GasBuddy.

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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 ransomware attacks.

The president noted that the government was going to pursue efforts that would interfere with the ability of ransomware networks to operate.

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 increase resilience.

Bloomberg News first reported on Thursday that Colonial had paid $5 million in ransom to the hackers who targeted its infrastructure.

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