Cybercrime expert suggests Colonial Pipeline's ransom was so low because DarkSide messed up

gas pump.
(Image credit: ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

Colonial Pipeline paid the Eastern European hackers who attacked its network 75 Bitcoin, worth almost $5 million at the time of the ransom payment, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday evening, backing up a report in Bloomberg News. The ransom payment to DarkSide, a group of cybercriminals in or near Russia, allowed Colonial to start restoring its network and work to reopen its massive pipeline from Texas to the East Coast, where gas stations are running out of gas amid panic buying of constrained supplies. Full restoration of gas service will take several days.

The federal government discourages such payments on the grounds they encourage further ransomware attacks. But many companies, local governments, and other organizations opt to pay the ransom because not doing so — leaving company data locked in encryption or leaked or sold on the web — would cost more, and because insurance often covers the payments.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.