WASHINGTON: The Justice Department on Monday recovered around US$2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline Co, cracking down on hackers who launched the most disruptive US cyberattack on record.
A judge in San Francisco approved the seizure of funds from this"cryptocurrency address", which the filing said was located in the Northern District of California.Colonial Pipeline had said it paid the hackers nearly US$5 million to regain access. "Right now, prosecution is a pipedream," Vice President John Hultquist of the Mandiant cybersecurity firm said in praising the move."Disrupt. Disrupt. Disrupt."The hack, attributed by the FBI to a gang called DarkSide, caused a days-long shutdown that led to a spike in gas prices, panic buying and localized fuel shortages. It posed a major political headache for President Joe Biden as the US economy was starting to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abbate said the FBI was tracking more than 100 ransomware variants. DarkSide itself victimized at least 90 U.S. companies, including manufacturers and healthcare providers, he said. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Sunday the Biden administration was looking at all options to defend against ransomware attacks and that the topic would be on the agenda when Biden meets Russian President Vladimir Putin this month.
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