U.S. Recovered Millions in Ransom From Colonial Pipeline Hackers

The U.S. has recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency ransom paid to the perpetrators of the cyber attack on Colonial Pipeline Co. last month that temporarily halted fuel supplies across the U.S. east coast, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Justice Department officials declined to comment. The department earlier said on Twitter that it will discuss the attack at 3:15 p.m. EDT. The person who discussed the issue asked not to be identified ahead of the announcement. CNN earlier reported that millions in ransom had been recovered.

The ransomware attack caused fuel shortages at gasoline stations in several states and even affected operations by some airlines and airports. It was part of an increasing trend of such acts against critical infrastructure that is posing an early test of President Joe Biden’s administration.

In the attack last month, Colonial Pipeline ended up paying hackers -- a Russia-linked cybercrime group known as DarkSide -- $4.4 million in cryptocurrency in order to help restore its operations.

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