{"id":159363,"date":"2021-06-07T16:26:46","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T20:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/?p=159363"},"modified":"2021-06-07T16:27:21","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T20:27:21","slug":"us-recovers-millions-in-bitcoin-paid-to-colonial-pipeline-ransomware-hackers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breaking911.com\/us-recovers-millions-in-bitcoin-paid-to-colonial-pipeline-ransomware-hackers\/","title":{"rendered":"US RECOVERS MILLIONS IN BITCOIN PAID TO COLONIAL PIPELINE RANSOMWARE HACKERS"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice today announced that it has seized 63.7 bitcoins currently valued at approximately $2.3 million. These funds allegedly represent the proceeds of a May 8, ransom payment to individuals in a group known as DarkSide, which had targeted Colonial Pipeline<\/a>, resulting in critical infrastructure being taken out of operation.<\/p>\n

The seizure warrant was authorized earlier today.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing the money remains one of the most basic, yet powerful tools we have,\u201d said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco for the U.S. Department of Justice. \u201cRansom payments are the fuel that propels the digital extortion engine, and today\u2019s announcement demonstrates that the United States will use all available tools to make these attacks more costly and less profitable for criminal enterprises. We will continue to target the entire ransomware ecosystem to disrupt and deter these attacks. Today\u2019s announcements also demonstrate the value of early notification to law enforcement; we thank Colonial Pipeline for quickly notifying the FBI when they learned that they were targeted by DarkSide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no place beyond the reach of the FBI to conceal illicit funds that will prevent us from imposing risk and consequences upon malicious cyber actors,\u201d said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. \u201cWe will continue to use all of our available resources and leverage our domestic and international partnerships to disrupt ransomware attacks and protect our private sector partners and the American public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCyber criminals are employing ever more elaborate schemes to convert technology into tools of digital extortion,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Stephanie Hinds. \u201cWe need to continue improving the cyber resiliency of our critical infrastructure across the nation, including in the Northern District of California. We will also continue developing advanced methods to improve our ability to track and recover digital ransom payments.\u201d<\/p>\n