White House monitoring fuel shortages

House Homeland Security Committee ranking member John Katko (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday dug into federal oversight of oil and gas sector cybersecurity following the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline.

In a letter provided to The Hill and sent to acting Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Brandon Wales, Katko raised questions around the agency’s Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative and assessments conducted on pipeline assets as part of the program.

“In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware incident, ensuring the success, growth, and effectiveness of the Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative is more important than ever before,” Katko wrote.

The Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative was founded in 2018 and involves CISA working with the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Energy and critical infrastructure stakeholders to assess and secure U.S. pipeline systems.