Line 5
In clear violation of my blogging protocols, I will discuss a couple of current issues, but at least not the pandemic. In my defence I will say that I will focus only on the aspects of the issues which are underreported. Also, it is the case that one of the issues is "Looming", as all the headlines indicate, and by later in the week we will have been dramatically affected by it - or not.
Line 5 is the 'looming' issue and I will say little about it since I have already done so in the post which clearly has one of my clearest titles: Line 5. I even provided a map. It is also is the case that there have been many stories about it. I think it is fair to say, however, that most of them indicate that clearly the shutdown will not happen and that it shouldn't because the economic results would be devastating. That is, our politicians and we Canadians mostly seem concerned only with the economic consequences, while the Governor of Michigan is worried more about the possible environmental impact on the Great Lakes if the pipeline was to burst. The irony was noticed by Rex Murphy as this headline indicates: "How's Trudeau Going to Get Out of this Line 5 Pickle and Keep Oil Flowing?" He notes: "The threat that by May 12, Gov. Whitmer will shut down Line 5 to Ontario, is so beautiful an issue it should be hanging in an art gallery.... For what have we to look at? We have two leaders, Greener than shamrocks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Gov. Whitmer, who see themselves plucked by the goddess of destiny herself, as human ambulances rushing to save the Earth from global warming."
Although I am sure that environmental groups and Indigenous ones think a break in the pipeline would not be a good thing for the Great Lakes, the 'mainstream media' seem to worry only about the business disruption. It is sometimes mentioned obliquely that the environmental impact would be more negative if the line is shutdown, because thousands of rail cars and trucks would have to be utilized to keep us supplied. I have not yet read a good newspaper piece that discusses directly what would happen if millions of gallons of petroleum products started pouring into the Great Lakes. I suppose it is natural to pay more attention to an event that is supposed to happen on May 12, rather than to hypothesize about one that may or may not occur a few months or years from now. It is also the case that our 'mainstream media' now have few tributaries, most of them issuing from the same source. The only Canadian newspaper I am aware of that has presented the environmental side, is one you probably don't read and may not know about - The National Observer, which recently published this article: "Line 5 is an Environmental Disaster Waiting to Happen," Trevor Greene, April 6, 2021.
The Colonial Pipeline
Pipeline problems developed south of the border just a couple of days ago and have yet to be resolved. In this case, the problem is not a pipeline rupture, but rather, a computer breach. Although the headline in the Washington Post says that a "Ransomeware Attack Leads to Shutdown of Major U.S. Pipeline System," the subject of "Ransomware" is not in the newspapers as much as it could be, and deliberately so. As the article indicates:
"Ransomware attacks, in which hackers lock up computer systems — usually by encrypting data — and demand payment to free up the system, are a global scourge. In recent years, they have affected everyone from banks and hospitals to universities and municipalities — almost 2,400 organizations in the United States were victimized last year alone, one security firm reported. But the attackers are increasingly targeting industrial sectors because these firms are more willing to pay up to regain control of their systems, experts say.
“The downtime for industrial companies can cost millions,” said Robert M. Lee, the chief executive of Dragos, a major cybersecurity firm that handles incidents in the industrial control sector. U.S. officials and experts in industrial control security said such attacks are more common than is publicly known and that most just do not get reported.
Even though many cases are not made public, we sometimes learn about them and they even happen close by. In December, 2019 you may recall that a ransomware attack cost the city of Woodstock over $600,000 even though the city didn't pay the ransom.
There is some good news to report from the United States about concerted efforts to deal with the ransomware threat.
A task force of more than 60 experts from industry, government, nonprofits and academia last month urged a series of coordinated actions by industry, government and civil society. Their recommendations include mandating that organizations report ransom payments and requiring them to consider alternatives before making payments. Governments, they said, could provide support to help firms hold out longer. The recommendations also call for global diplomatic and law enforcement efforts to induce countries from providing safe havens to ransomware criminals.
The title of the report:
Combatting Ransomware: A Comprehensive Framework for Action: Key Recommendations From the Ransomware Task Force. The link will take you to the 80 pp. report and here is the first paragraph from it:
"Ransomware is not just financial extortion; it is a crime that transcends business, government, academic, and geographic boundaries. It has disproportionately impacted the healthcare industry during the COVID pandemic, and has shut down schools, hospitals, police stations, city governments, and U.S. military facilities. It is also a crime that funnels both private funds and tax dollars toward global criminal organizations. The proceeds stolen from victims may be financing illicit activities ranging from human trafficking to the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
The Bonus:
The attack on the Colonial Pipeline appears to have come from an an Eastern European-based criminal gang known as "Darkside" and it was done for money, not for political reasons. The same is true for the major hacking and ransomware assaults initiated by the government of North Korea - they are done mainly for the money. You may recall a hacking event from a few years ago involving North Korea. When Sony Pictures released a trailer for a Seth Rogen comedy about an attempted assassination of Kim Jong Un, a computer attack against Sony was launched that did considerable personal and financial damage (Rogen remarked, "People don't usually wanna kill me for one of my movies until after they've paid 12 bucks for it.")
I thought former President Trump had solved the North Korea problem. but apparently not.
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