The colonial pipeline transports roughly 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined petroleum products over the nearly 9,000 km pipeline network and connects the Gulf Coast refineries with southern and eastern coastal states.
An Eastern European hacker group, DarkSide, is likely behind the attack, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The group claims it has no relationship with other governments. On Monday, the group itself acknowledged the attack, saying it wanted to make money through it and not be influenced by any foreign government.
By the way, Colonial announced today that it has started restarting the fuel line network after six days, but it may take a few more days for normal operation to return.
Even informed sources reported on Wednesday that Colonial Pipeline has no plans to pay the hackers.
Now, however, it turns out Bloomberg Information Consequently
After all, the company paid little cybercriminals, about $ 5 million, or about $ 1.5 billion forints.
The company paid the ransom in cryptocurrency hours after the attack, which is almost impossible to track. The FBI advises companies not to pay in similar cases where there is no guarantee that they will fulfill their promises after payment and may encourage similar situations.
Cover photo: Getty Images
