Security News > 2021 > May > Colonial Pipeline Shells Out $5M in Extortion Payout, Report
Colonial Pipeline Co., operator of the largest U.S. fuel pipeline, reportedly paid $5 million to criminals behind a ransomware attack that has sent fuel prices spiking up and down the East Coast.
Sources familiar with the payout told Bloomberg that representatives of Colonial Pipeline paid the cybergang known as DarkSide the ransom it demanded in return for a decryption tool that allowed the firm to restore its computer network disabled in last week's attack.
On Wednesday, the energy firm restarted its pipeline operations after five days of being shut down: a shutdown done proactively following the ransomware attack.
Colonial Pipeline did not reply to Threatpost's inquiries seeking confirmation of the Bloomberg report.
True to form, the DarkSide cybergang believed to be behind the Colonial Pipeline attack is a known threat actor.
With regards to the larger question of whether or not victims of ransomware attacks should pay extortion demands, opinions are mixed.