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Justice Dept. Claws Back $2.3M Paid by Colonial Pipeline to Ransomware Gang
Justice Dept. Claws Back $2.3M Paid by Colonial Pipeline to Ransomware Gang:
The U.S. Departmentof Justice said today it has recovered $2.3 million worth of Bitcoin that Colonial Pipeline paid to ransomware extortionists last month. The funds had been sent to DarkSide, a ransomware-as-a-service syndicate that disbanded after a May 14 farewell message to affiliates saying its Internet servers and cryptocurrency stash were seized by unknown law enforcement entities.
On May 7, the DarkSide ransomware gang sprang its attack against Colonial, which ultimately paid 75 Bitcoin (~$4.4 million) to its tormentors. The company said the attackers only hit its business IT networks — not its pipeline security and safety systems — but that it shut the pipeline down anyway as a precaution [several publications noted Colonial shut down its pipeline because its billing system was impacted, and it had no way to get paid].
On or around May 14, the DarkSide representative on several Russian-language cybercrime forums posted a message saying the group was calling it quits.
"Servers were seized, money of advertisers and founders was transferred to an unknown account," read the farewell message. "Hosting support, apart from information 'at the request of law enforcement agencies,' does not provide any other information."
US Has Recovered Ransom Payment Made After Pipeline Hack - Times of India
US has recovered ransom payment made after pipeline hack - Times of India:
WASHINGTON: The Justice Department has recovered the majority of a multimillion-dollar ransom payment to hackers after a cyberattack that caused the operator of the nation's largest fuel pipeline to halt its operations last month, officials said Monday. The operation to recover the cryptocurrency from the Russia-based hacker group is the first undertaken by a specialized ransomware task force created by the Justice Department, and reflects what US officials say is an increasingly aggressive approach to deal with a ransomware threat that in the last month has targeted critical industries around the world. "By going after an entire ecosystem that fuels ransomware and digital currency, we will continue to use all of our tools and all of our resources to increase the costs and the consequences of ransomware attacks and other cyber-enabled attacks," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Monday at a news conference announcing the operation.
Also at Washington Post, Threatpost
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 08 2021, @05:23PM (4 children)
Steal the money away from the cybercriminals to make their efforts a complete waste of time. Even better to sick them on each other if it was at all possible.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 08 2021, @06:52PM (2 children)
Actually, I think much more effective would be to do the Mossad thing. [wikipedia.org] Have a few of these jokers turn up dead in various parts of the world. Make it clear that they can be reached just about anywhere they run to hide. You don't just want them thinking this is a "waste of time". You want them scared enough to shit their pants anytime another of their comrades ends up in the news as the latest casualty.
(Score: 5, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday June 08 2021, @08:31PM (1 child)
Yep, extrajudicial killings are great! It's one of those things we all just really LOVE about Israel!
Good times!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 09 2021, @02:39AM
Perhaps you hadn't heard but the Biden Administration now considers these actions as terrorism which means that it is entirely legal to hunt them down like rabid dogs. Of course, the perpetrators could turn themselves in to face a US military tribunal under the UCMJ. But then, I'm pretty sure that Putin and his henchmen would frown on that sort of thing. And let's just be real: Putin and his goons would be far less gentle about taking vengeance for turning on Mother Russia. I'm guessing that the lives of wives, children, father, mother, brothers, and sisters would all be on the line. Any way you look at it, they are screwed.
(Score: 2) by Anti-aristarchus on Tuesday June 08 2021, @10:08PM
Yes, the word is "sic", according to your local grammar Nazi.