US Recovers Millions In Colonial Pipeline Ransom
Thomas Catenacci
Reporter
June 07, 2021 4:02 PM ET
The U.S. government recovered much of the cryptocurrency ransom payment worth approximately $4.4 million that Colonial Pipeline made to hackers last month, the Justice Department announced.
U.S. law enforcement was able to track and seize the transaction back to a cryptocurrency wallet belonging to DarkSide, the eastern European group that conducted the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline last month, Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said during a press conference Monday afternoon. Investigators credited Colonial Pipeline’s decision to immediately notify law enforcement when it was hacked with its ability to seize the money.
“After Colonial Pipeline’s quick notification to law enforcement and pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California earlier today, the Department of Justice has found and recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network in the wake of last month’s ransomware attack,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said during the press conference.
Monaco added that the DOJ will continue to pursue similar cyberattack cases that have recently occurred. DarkSide and its affiliates have been “digitally stalking” U.S. companies for much of the last year, she noted.
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https://dailycaller.com/2021/06/07/department-of-justice-colonial-pipeline-merrick-garland/