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Colonial Pipeline Pays $5 Million Cryptocurrency Ransom

Thu, 05/13/2021 - 14:38
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Alex Dovbnya
Colonial Pipeline has agreed to pay a $5 million cryptocurrency ransom
Colonial Pipeline Pays $5 Million Cryptocurrency Ransom
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Colonial Pipeline has paid a $5 million ransom to hackers in an anonymous cryptocurrency, according to a Bloomberg report that cites sources familiar with the transaction.

The pipeline system restarted operations on Wednesday after a crippling ransomware attack but warned that it could take several days for the gas supply chain to return to normal.

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Ransomware Attackers Raked In Huge Amount of Crypto in Q1: Report

The incident led to a national crisis, with natural gas prices soaring amid panic buying. Yesterday, the GasBuddy app jumped to the number one spot in the U.S. Apple App Store, dethroning leading crypto exchange Coinbase.

According to the FBI's findings, the hackers are part of the Russia-linked DarkSide group.

The bad actors were reportedly demanding the ransom to be paid in Bitcoin or privacy coin Monero.

As Bloomberg states, the ransom was paid in just hours after the hack occurred, while earlier reports suggested that Colonial Pipeline was refusing to negotiate with the attackers.

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About the author

Alex Dovbnya (aka AlexMorris) is a cryptocurrency expert, trader and journalist with extensive experience of covering everything related to the burgeoning industry — from price analysis to Blockchain disruption. Alex authored more than 1,000 stories for U.Today, CryptoComes and other fintech media outlets. He’s particularly interested in regulatory trends around the globe that are shaping the future of digital assets, can be contacted at alex.dovbnya@u.today.