Colonial Pipeline Paid Ransomware Hackers $5M In Cryptocurrency: Report
Colonial Pipeline Co. paid nearly $5 million in untraceable cryptocurrency to the ransomware who shut down the nation’s largest fuel pipeline, according to a Bloomberg report sourcing “two people familiar with the transaction.”
What Happened: The payment was made on May 7, the day after the ransomware attack took place. Upon receiving their ransom, the hackers provided the decrypting tool needed to restore the Colonial Pipeline computer network that became imprisoned within their ransomware. However, the tool was reportedly so slow in working that the company used its own backups to speed the restoration of the system, according to Bloomberg.