Security News > 2021 > May > Colonial Pipeline restores operations, $5 million ransom demanded
Colonial Pipeline has recovered quickly from the ransomware attack suffered less than a week ago and expects all its infrastructure to be fully operational today.
Colonial Pipeline manages the largest pipeline system in the U.S., supplying almost half of all the fuel consumed on the East Coast.
Considering the experience of the attackers, the size of the company, and its importance in the U.S., restoring operations this quick would suggest that Colonial Pipeline paid the attackers for the decryption key and to not leak stolen data.
Bloomberg today reports that Colonial Pipeline paid the hackers almost $5 million in cryptocurrency to get a decryption key and restore its systems.
After getting the data back, the company could have also used its backup system to restore the systems and resume pipeline operations without paying the ransom.
Without important files in hand that could negatively impact the company, the hackers may never leak any data from Colonial Pipeline.