President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday, aiming to strengthen the nation's cyber defenses following the Colonial Pipeline hack that prompted panic buying to drivers on the East Coast, marking gas shortage 2021. NPR reported that the said company that was victimized by the hacking is responsible for providing nearly half of the gasoline and jet fuel on the eastern coast of the U.S.

Biden's signing of the executive order that aims to reinforce the cyberdefenses comes more than two weeks after D.C. Metropolitan Police Department announced that their server was also hacked. The department claimed that there was unauthorized access on their servers. FBI is now investigating the hacking incident with their servers.

What Is Inside President Biden's E.O.?

NPR noted that a senior Biden administration official confirmed on Wednesday that the order will "reflect a fundamental shift in our mindset from incident response to prevention, from talking about security to doing security." The confirmation was made during a press briefing.

Moreover, the executive order will also outline novel security standards intended for commercial software used by both businesses and the public. This includes multifactor authentication and encryption.

Apart from strengthening the defenses, the E.O. will also establish a Cyber Security Safety Review Board that will analyze the incidents. Furthermore, the order will require companies to report information regarding cyber breaches.

President Biden signed the executive order in light of the hacking of the Colonial Pipeline.

Who Might Be Behind the Colonial Pipeline Hack?

Former National Security Agency Hacker David Kennedy argued that Russia might be connected to the recent Colonial Pipeline hack that prompted the gas shortage. Kennedy pointed out in CNBC that Russian President Vladimir Putin is connected to the actions of Darkside, the group allegedly responsible for hacking the company.

"We are seeing so much hostility coming from a cyber warfare campaign perspective," said Kennedy. The former NSA hacker also assumed that Putin "is enjoying the attention while" he is producing a crisis in the United States. Meanwhile, CNBC noted that the Russian embassy did not immediately respond for comment.

Panic Buying Rise as Colonial Pipeline Stops Operation

The ransomware attack that Kennedy blames Russia for erupted panic buying and gas shortage. CBS News mentioned S&P's Oil Price Information Service said that more than 1,000 stations were experiencing a gas shortage. On Tuesday, long queues were seen in many gas stations, especially in the southeastern parts of the United States. Due to the incident, some gas stations have raised the prices of petrol.

The Colonial Pipeline supplied 45 percent of the East Coast's fuel. Gas shortages were reported in at least seven states. Government officials and industry experts pointed out that hoarders of petrol or gas are making the situation worse.

CBS News noted that Florida, Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina had declared state of emergency due to the gas shortage. Meanwhile, NPR noted that the Colonial Pipeline that endured the hack was reported to restart their pipeline on early Wednesday.

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WATCH: Colonial pipeline restored - from 11Alive