Gas Panic and Cyber Security were on high display this week as anxiety rises. Political and clinical psychologist Dr. Bart Rossi, Ph.D. joins BNC Live to discuss.
With hackers shutting down the Colonial Pipeline, the eastern part of the United States had its gas distribution interrupted. This, in turn, caused spiking gas prices. There was expectation of pending shortages across the southeast. And while the Colonial Pipeline has resumed operations, it will take time to ramp up supply. So consumers will feel the effects for a while longer after just emerging from a year’s worth of stress over the pandemic.
The public, being told not to panic, did just that. There are long lines at the pumps and people are frustrated and tense. There have been many reports of panic buying. The U.S. Product Safety Commission had to actually release a warning “Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline”.
Moreover, the gas panic has pushed frustration so high that actual fistfights have broken out in gas station lines.
The bigger question on Capitol Hill and in the White House is cybersecurity and critical infrastructure vulnerability. When former president Trump fired Chris Krebs it left a leadership vacancy in the Cyber Security and Insfrastructure Agency. Trump became angry when Krebs refuted Trump’s nosions about the election security. This left a scramble as to who would take over for Krebs.
This new hack on our gas distribution infrastructure highlights just how vulnerable the U.S. is to outside forces. President Biden has been calling for a wide-reaching infrastructure plan, with cybersecurity –in addition to roads and bridges, and other things — a top priority. With this latest cyber attack, it has now taken on a new urgency.
Gas Panic and Cyber Security
In this segment, Dr, Rossi joins BLN Live to discuss the psychological and political impacts of the hack.
