DOJ Recovers $2.3M Paid To Colonial Pipeline Hackers

WASHINGTON, DC — The Department of Justice has recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency paid to hackers who targeted and prompted a shutdown of the nation's largest fuel pipeline last month.

In May, Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline paid $4.3 million in bitcoins to a Russian hacker group that was holding the company's software hostage. Paying the ransom enabled Colonial to end a shutdown and restore fuel delivery through its pipeline, which delivers about 45 percent of all fuel consumed on the East Coast.

The shutdown sparked a massive demand for fuel and caused gas outages in several states.

Justice Department officials on Tuesday said the FBI was able to track and recover 63.7 bitcoins, which are currently valued at about $2.3 million.

Last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray compared the threat of ransomware attacks to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The Justice Department also instructed federal prosecutors to elevate ransomware probes to the same priority level as terrorism investigations.

Read more via CBS News

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