America’s Largest Pipeline Network Confirms It Has Been a “ransomware” Attack: Who Are the Suspected Hackers

Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline network in the United States, Paralyzed all his activities and confirmed he was a victim ransomware attack A group of hackers blocked access to the company’s computers and demanded money to free them.

In a statement, the company had to suspend all its operations on Friday due to the “ransomware” attack.

Colonial has not released who could be behind this attack, however cyber security experts point out how Suspicious of “Darkshide”, A group of pirates with recent historical activities that some experts suspect may have been located in Eastern Europe.

Company Bloomberg On Thursday, the attackers reportedly stole about 100 gigabytes of corporate data in an hour or two The dual extortion scheme is one of the hallmarks of DarkSite: on the one hand, the company is threatened by information leaks; On the other hand, systems are inaccessible until the ransom is paid.

It is not known how much money they asked the colonists for at this time, but in the past They have demanded hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, Paid in cryptocurrencies. It is not uncommon for companies supported by insurance policies to make payments.

Darkshit hackers, who have not yet confirmed the creativity of the attack, attracted attention last year A proclamation with a moral hue, and they showed receipts for donations to charities.

In addition, the group promises that it will not include in its plans to hack schools, hospitals, non-profit organizations or government agencies, but rather large companies that can pay the ransom. Most of its targets occurred in English-speaking countries.

Meanwhile, the state of Georgia-based colonial company said it was working “diligently” to resolve the issue and minimize inconvenience to its customers. for now Fuel transport is still halted on the 8,850 kilometers of oil pipelines managed by the colonialists, which are needed to supply large population centers in the east and south of the country.

The company transports 2.5 million barrels of petrol, diesel and jet fuel a day from refineries in the Gulf of Mexico to the south and east of the United States. Its importance is essential to the country’s east coast. According to its website, it accounts for 45% of fuel traffic in the area.

Colonialism said it had hired a “big” cyber security company and was collaborating with government agencies to restore service. The colonial company did not release the name of the company, but the American media pointed to “Fire Eye”, one of the largest cyber security companies in the United States that provides its services to companies and governments.

On Saturday, US President Joe Biden was notified of the incident, a White House spokesman said, adding that government cybersecurity agencies were doing everything possible to restore fuel traffic to the country as soon as possible.

Last year, victims of “ransomware” had to pay an average of $ 10,310,000 to unlock their computer systems, according to cybersecurity firm Cover. It was one of the largest “ransomware” attacks ever made public in the United States.

Some lawmakers have already called for tougher regulations to protect the country’s energy infrastructure and expressed concern about the impact it could have on fuel prices. However, with a 1% increase in the value of petrol and diesel in futures markets, the impact on fuel prices will be minimal.

The epidemic has reduced the use of fuels, mainly due to declining traffic, and the impact could be minimal if the service is restored soon. However, The American Automobile Association warned that if the interruption lasted several days, the effects could be negative, especially affecting the southeastern part of the country..

(With information from EFE)

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