News Mash-up: American Utilities

Disrupted water supplies for millions in Texas Over 7.9 million people in Texas still had issues with their water supply as of Feb. 22, authorities said, after a record-breaking freeze had knocked out power stations the week before. Millions of Texans were advised to boil water before use, but all power plants were back online and power had been restored to most homes as the weather returned to normal. A deadly winter storm caused widespread blackouts across Texas, a state unaccustomed to extreme cold, killing at least two dozen people and knocking out power to more than 4 million people at its peak. (Reuters) Major US pipeline hit by ransomware attack The operator of a major pipeline system that transports fuel across the East Coast in the U.S. said May 8 it had been victimized by a ransomware attack and had halted all pipeline operations to deal with the threat. The attack is unlikely to affect gasoline supply and prices unless it leads to a prolonged shutdown of the pipeline, experts said. Colonial Pipeline did not say what was demanded or who made the demand. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out by criminal hackers who scramble data, paralyzing victim networks, and demand a large payment to decrypt it. (AP) These articles were provided by The Japan Times Alpha.