Colonial Pipeline reportedly paid $5 million ransom to a hacker group within hours after a cyber attack forced its pipeline to shut down.
Bloomberg reports Colonial paid hackers $5 million within hours after the pipeline was attacked by ransomware on Friday.
Colonial repeatedly denied paying any ransom to the Russian hacker collective Darkside. However, Bloomberg confirmed via inside sources that the ramson was paid “within hours” of the cyber attack.
Colonial pipeline resumed partial operations late Wednesday after paying the ransom to unlock its computerized pipeline system.
The pipeline has already delivered over 1 million gallons of gasoline to stations in southeastern states. However, officials warn that the pipeline won’t be fully operational until early next week.
The Washington Post reports that Colonial was “extorted” by the hacker group which threatened to release the company’s data unless a fee was paid. The fee was $5 million.
Once the ransom was paid, the hackers provided Colonial with a decryption tool to restore its computer system.
