NEWS
OPINION
Gas pipeline hack
adds to America’s
vulnerabilities
After Colonial Pipeline shutdown and COVID-19,
we must prepare for cyber and biological attacks
Tom Daschle and Tom Ridge
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense
The effects of the ransomware attack
that shut down the Colonial Pipeline
and disrupted East Coast gasoline sup-
plies have eased. As frustrating as that
cyberattack was to consumers and busi-
ness operators, however, consider this:
Much worse things could damage criti-
cal infrastructure.
With terrorist groups and ill-mean-
ing nation states such as Iran and Syria
striving to disrupt America’s way of life,
future attacks are likely to occur in more
than one domain.
Just a week ago, Microsoft warned
that the Russian-based group behind
last year’s SolarWinds hack had
launched a new campaign targeting
150 organizations, mostly in the United
States. The prolific hacker group, which
Microsoft refers to as Nobelium and is
widely believed to be run by Russia’s
Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR,
launched the latest attacks after getting
access to an email marketing service
used by the U.S. Agency for Interna-
tional Development, or USAID, accord-
ing to Microsoft.
Woefully underprepared
While it is impossible to prepare for
all possible scenarios, we should at least
prepare for those that already have laid
bare our weaknesses.
The shutdown on the Colonial Pipe-
line and the spread of the coronavirus
reveal troubling national vulnerabili-
ties. The United States should prepare
for both cyber and biological attacks to
occur simultaneously.
A report soon to be released by the Bi-
partisan Commission on Biodefense
finds that all critical infrastructure sec-
tors are at biological risk. The conse-
quences of intentional, accidental and
natural biological incidents occurring
are truly worrisome.
None of our nation’s 16 critical infra-
structure sectors (including the health
care and public health sector and the
food and agriculture sector) has
planned adequately for biological inci-
dents. They have not determined how
they will operate in a biologically con-
taminated environment, identified how
they contribute to biodefense, exam-
ined the biological threat to their opera-
tions, determined how they are vulner-
able to biological threats or estimated
the consequences of biological inci-
dents harming their sectors.
It is no wonder then that all critical
infrastructure sectors found them-
selves unprotected and operationally
compromised when the COVID-19 pan-
demic spread to the United States and
throughout the world.
And if the private sector is looking to
the federal government to do something
Tanker
trucks are
parked
near the
entrance
of the
Colonial
Pipeline
Co. last
month in
Charlotte,
N.C. CHRIS
CARLSON/AP
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about this, it will experience what we
all saw during the pandemic: a govern-
ment that remains woefully underpre-
pared. All critical infrastructure own-
ers and operators must accept that a
biological incident will likely harm
their sectors, and then plan and pre-
pare accordingly.
Ignoring the danger could well lead
to horrendous consequences within
each sector and throughout society.
COVID-19 provided a powerful ex-
ample of how our nation’s food and ag-
riculture sector can easily be upended.
Food-processing facilities were hit
hard by the pandemic, forcing work
stoppages when employees could not
come to work.
Remember the bird flu?
In December 2014, migrating wild
birds brought a highly pathogenic
strain of avian influenza to the United
States. The ensuing outbreak resulted
in the largest animal health disaster
ever experienced by America.
Federal and state governments
spent $879 million in response. The
outbreak affected 21 states, lasted until
the middle of 2015 and led to the loss of
more than 50 million birds on
232 farms. Subsequent trade bans af-
fected as many as 233,770 farms.
The cost of the bird flu to the U.S.
economy was estimated at $3.3 billion.
The estimated economic impact of
COVID-19 to the U.S. economy is
$16 trillion and climbing.
The increasing rate of emerging and
reemerging diseases, along with bio-
logical threats and attempts by those
with nefarious intent to attack, point
to the need to reduce the risk to Amer-
ica’s critical infrastructure.
Act now
The COVID-19 pandemic is not just
about the health care and public health
sector any more than the Colonial
Pipeline hack is just about the trans-
portation systems sector. When you
consider how vulnerable all sectors are
(such as chemical, dams, financial ser-
vices and government facilities sec-
tors) you realize just how big a chal-
lenge we face.
Shame on us if we don’t see the con-
nection between the coronavirus pan-
demic and the Colonial Pipeline at-
tack. Both were made much worse
from the nation’s lack of planning and
the inability or unwillingness to face
obvious possibilities.
The food we eat, the water we drink,
the electricity and gasoline that power
our world – all must be protected. We
must work to protect our critical infra-
structure now, before illness, death
and economic disaster overcome the
nation and the world.
Tom Ridge, a former Republican
governor of Pennsylvania and the first
U.S. secretary of Homeland Security,
and former Democratic Senate Major-
ity Leader Tom Daschle serve on the Bi-
partisan Commission on Biodefense.
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Tennis brass violated
law, decency on Osaka
She got threats instead
of an accommodation
Scott Douglas Gerber
Law professor
It is profoundly disturbing that
Naomi Osaka felt compelled to with-
draw from the French Open, one of
tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments.
It is also illegal to make her feel like she
needed to withdraw.
The 23-year-old Osaka is the No. 2
female tennis player in the world at the
moment. She won the previous two
Grand Slams, and she has won a total
of four in her young tennis career.
Osaka, who moved to the United
States at age 3 from Japan, struggles
with depression and anxiety. In 2018,
she issued a tearful apology during the
trophy ceremony after winning (not
losing) her first Grand Slam tourna-
ment, the U.S. Open, over the Ameri-
can crowd’s favorite, Serena Williams.
Williams, who is probably the greatest
female tennis player who ever lived,
quickly let everyone know – including
Osaka, especially Osaka – that the
then-20-year-old had nothing for
which to apologize.
Williams’ whispers and gestures to
try to console Osaka, and her exhorta-
tion to the crowd to stop booing and
give credit where it’s due, demonstrat-
ed that Williams’ prodigious athletic
gifts are matched by a compassionate
heart. I still remember to this day how
moved I was by what Williams did.
The governing authorities of tennis’
four Grand Slam tournaments should
have learned from Osaka and Wil-
liams. Before her first match at the
French Open, Osaka had informed
tournament officials that news confer-
ences adversely impacted her mental
health, and that she would be willing
to be fined for not participating in
them during the tournament.
She also said she hoped that any
fines she paid would be donated to “a
mental health charity.”
No apology owed
Shockingly, not only did the presi-
dent of the French Tennis Federation
not agree to Osaka’s reasonable re-
quest for an accommodation, he per-
suaded the heads of the other three
Grand Slams – the U.S. Open, Wimble-
don and the Australian Open – to pub-
licly release the contents of a letter
they wrote to Osaka in which they
threatened to disqualify Osaka from
all four tournaments.
“We have advised Naomi Osaka
that should she continue to ignore her
media obligations during the tourna-
ment, she would be exposing herself to
possible further Code of Conduct in-
fringement consequences,” the release
said. “As might be expected, repeat vi-
olations attract tougher sanctions in-
cluding default from the tournament …
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and the trigger of a major
offense investigation
that could lead to more
substantial fines and fu-
ture Grand Slam suspen-
sions.”
AP These threats led Osa-
ka to withdraw from the
French Open and “take some time away
from the court.” She apologized for any
inconvenience she has caused. As Wil-
liams aptly suggested in 2018 after Osa-
ka had demolished her 6-2, 6-4 to win
the U.S. Open, Osaka owes nobody an
apology.
The same cannot be said for the
heads of the four Grand Slam tennis
tournaments. Indeed, they do not seem
to know about, or care about, anti-dis-
crimination law. Mental health issues,
including depression and anxiety, are
brain disorders. They are not caused by
a flawed personality or poor parenting.
By law, including French law, an em-
ployer is required to reasonably accom-
modate the mental health issues of em-
ployees and potential employees.
Managing a health condition
Osaka is a professional tennis player
who makes her living playing tennis.
The president of the French Tennis Fed-
eration prevented her from doing that at
the French Open, and the heads of the
other Grand Slams threatened to do the
same at their tournaments.
Threatening to hold someone’s men-
tal health issues against them is illegal.
Osaka’s willingness to be fined rather
than participate in news conferences
that exacerbate her mental health is-
sues was a request for reasonable ac-
commodation to which tennis’ govern-
ing authorities should have agreed.
For her part, the young Osaka ma-
turely and selflessly stated in her with-
drawal communiqué, “I really want to
work with the Tour to discuss ways we
can make things better for the players,
press and fans.”
As for Williams, she once again said
exactly the right thing: “I wish I could
give her a hug. … I think she is doing the
best she can.”
Tennis’ governing authorities need to
do the best they can, too. The law re-
quires them to do so. Equally important,
basic human decency requires it. The
leaders of the four Grand Slam tourna-
ments belatedly pledged to address
Osaka’s concerns – after she withdrew,
amid a backlash of sympathy.
Naomi Osaka is a phenomenal tennis
player who, like millions of people
around the world, has a health condi-
tion that she is trying to manage.
Threatening to deprive her of her liveli-
hood made matters worse, not better.
Scott Douglas Gerber is a law profes-
sor at Ohio Northern University, an as-
sociated scholar at Brown University’s
Political Theory Project and a member
of the Ohio Advisory Committee to the
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The
views expressed here are his alone.
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