US Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack – Company Paid Hackers $ 5 Million

According to two agency interlocutors familiar with the situation, the ransom was paid to the hackers in a cryptocurrency that cannot be traced. The cryptocurrency was transferred to hackers a few hours after the attack.

After receiving the payment, one source said the hackers provided the Colonial Pipeline operator with a decryption tool to restore the disconnected computer network, but it was very slow, so the company had to use its own backups.

As noted by Bloomberg, information about such a move by Colonial Pipeline contradicts previous statements by the company that Colonial Pipeline does not plan to pay hackers a ransom to reopen the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. A Colonial Pipeline spokesman declined to comment.

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