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I don’t know. Did any of it matter? It was bad when people started hoarding gas. Just a few unfathomably stupid people - as always in this country. If idiots di

I don’t know. Did any of it matter? It was bad when people started hoarding gas. Just a few unfathomably stupid people - as always in this country. If idiots didn’t hoard gas, nothing would really have gone wrong. The preppers are the other side of the same coin. The only thing they seem to never run out of is toilet paper. Who the fuck cares? Pentesters have the same energy. They tell you about what software not to use (anything in their automated suite), followed by a bunch of meaningless bullshit. It is a form of anti preparation, it would not have helped Colonial at all. You talk about crippling, and in the biggest audition for crippling society in the world, time after time it’s the Everyman being an idiot - or a Prepper being too smart for their own good - that is responsible for all the bad.

bostonsre 5y ago
I doubt companies care about anything besides profit and that they could care less about gas hoarders. Also, this was just a little taste of havoc that could be done to the economy and society. I'm hoping they lost enough money to knock some sense into them to practice better security and hopefully it makes others think twice about practicing sloppy security. I'm also guessing in the wake of this that ransom attacks will increase in frequency, ransom demands will increase in value, and insurance premiums will increase as well and insurance providers may be forced to do better due diligence about policies that they sell to large corporations to ensure that they don't practice sloppy security. I'm hoping there is some tipping point where it makes financial sense for these large corporations to practice better security. Right now, they gamble that they won't be attacked and so don't invest in security and for the most part they have been rewarded.
tbihl 5y ago
You know what's way more effective at stopping gas hoarding so it's available for someone who really wants/needs it? Doubling the price per gallon. Anti-price gouging laws caused the shortage, just like with toilet paper and PPE last year.
- jackson1442 5y ago
  A price increase that effectively stops people from hoarding gas would be equally as effective at stopping people who need gas from affording it.
  - tbihl 5y ago
    Addressing legitimate problems of hardship can be dealt with from the other end, by channeling resources to those people. In the mean time, higher prices mean that supply isn't interrupted, and for the vast majority of people that means that you don't fill up your car and your wife's car and your lawnmower and a 55gal drum, because it's not worth it. You just skip a few trips and let your gas tank get below half a tank. And if you were wrong about thinking you could hold out, you can still buy gas because it's not sitting in your neighbor's new gas cans in his garage. We shouldn't have widespread shortages for the sake of theoretical people whose existences are structured around 5 gallon commutes and razor thin margins tied with no lines of credit to float a week of double gas expenses.
    - upbeat_general 5y ago
      By “theoretical people” I think you’re referring to a very sizable portion of the population.
    - ImPostingOnHN 5y ago
      The people who would be hurt by such an increase, absent already-in-place assistance, constitute the vast majority of people. And, unfortunately, nobody is helped by "can be dealt with" -- the policies to prevent their pain, and to prevent disadvantaged folks from being disproportionately impacted by such an increase, need to be in place before the increase. The reason, which is likely apparent to both of us and everyone reading this, is that such assistance would likely never be put in place, and the only help ordinary folks will have in the event of such an increase is wishful thinking.
      - fsckboy 5y ago
unclebucknasty 5y ago
>If idiots didn’t hoard gas, nothing would really have gone wrong. Maybe. But, I tend to lay the blame with the foreign criminals/adversaries who attacked us rather than a panicky handful of my fellow country people. Not sure why some here are blaming the victims while giving the criminals a pass, and even thanking them as if unsolicited, live pentesting on critical infrastructure with a side order of extortion is a good thing.
Thorrez 5y ago
>I don’t know. Did any of it matter I bet a lot of companies, including Colonial, are investing more in security, including hiring more people for security.

bostonsre 5y ago

I doubt companies care about anything besides profit and that they could care less about gas hoarders. Also, this was just a little taste of havoc that could be done to the economy and society. I'm hoping they lost enough money to knock some sense into them to practice better security and hopefully it makes others think twice about practicing sloppy security. I'm also guessing in the wake of this that ransom attacks will increase in frequency, ransom demands will increase in value, and insurance premiums will increase as well and insurance providers may be forced to do better due diligence about policies that they sell to large corporations to ensure that they don't practice sloppy security. I'm hoping there is some tipping point where it makes financial sense for these large corporations to practice better security. Right now, they gamble that they won't be attacked and so don't invest in security and for the most part they have been rewarded.

tbihl 5y ago

You know what's way more effective at stopping gas hoarding so it's available for someone who really wants/needs it? Doubling the price per gallon. Anti-price gouging laws caused the shortage, just like with toilet paper and PPE last year.

jackson1442 5y ago
A price increase that effectively stops people from hoarding gas would be equally as effective at stopping people who need gas from affording it.
- tbihl 5y ago
  Addressing legitimate problems of hardship can be dealt with from the other end, by channeling resources to those people. In the mean time, higher prices mean that supply isn't interrupted, and for the vast majority of people that means that you don't fill up your car and your wife's car and your lawnmower and a 55gal drum, because it's not worth it. You just skip a few trips and let your gas tank get below half a tank. And if you were wrong about thinking you could hold out, you can still buy gas because it's not sitting in your neighbor's new gas cans in his garage. We shouldn't have widespread shortages for the sake of theoretical people whose existences are structured around 5 gallon commutes and razor thin margins tied with no lines of credit to float a week of double gas expenses.
  - upbeat_general 5y ago
    By “theoretical people” I think you’re referring to a very sizable portion of the population.
  - ImPostingOnHN 5y ago
    The people who would be hurt by such an increase, absent already-in-place assistance, constitute the vast majority of people. And, unfortunately, nobody is helped by "can be dealt with" -- the policies to prevent their pain, and to prevent disadvantaged folks from being disproportionately impacted by such an increase, need to be in place before the increase. The reason, which is likely apparent to both of us and everyone reading this, is that such assistance would likely never be put in place, and the only help ordinary folks will have in the event of such an increase is wishful thinking.
    - fsckboy 5y ago

unclebucknasty 5y ago

>If idiots didn’t hoard gas, nothing would really have gone wrong. Maybe. But, I tend to lay the blame with the foreign criminals/adversaries who attacked us rather than a panicky handful of my fellow country people. Not sure why some here are blaming the victims while giving the criminals a pass, and even thanking them as if unsolicited, live pentesting on critical infrastructure with a side order of extortion is a good thing.

Thorrez 5y ago

>I don’t know. Did any of it matter I bet a lot of companies, including Colonial, are investing more in security, including hiring more people for security.