The operator of the largest US pipeline, the Colonial Pipeline, which was attacked by hackers, paid them a ransom of $4.4 million. This was stated in an interview with The Wall Street Journal by the head of the company, Joseph Blount.
He admitted that the decision to pay was extremely controversial and was not easy for him. According to Blount, the decision was made because the company’s management was not completely sure how seriously the cyberattack affected the operation of the Colonial Pipeline systems and how soon it would be possible to normalize the operation of the oil pipeline.
On the eve of the research company Elliptic said that the hacker group DarkSide, which attacked the operator of the Colonial Pipeline, received $90 million of a ransom in bitcoins from its victims.
On May 8, it was reported that the work of the largest pipeline in the United States, the Colonial Pipeline, was suspended due to a cyber attack. Subsequently, the US authorities declared a regional emergency, and the country recorded an increase in gasoline prices.
On the night of May 14, the company Colonial Pipeline reported that fuel supplies were restored in full. On May 18, the pipeline again experienced failures.
The Colonial Pipeline is the largest oil pipeline in the United States, delivering fuel from factories on the Gulf Coast to the East Coast of the country. Every day, the pipeline transports about 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast.
