US seizes US$2.3 million in ransom paid to Colonial Pipeline hackers
- The cyberattack was most disruptive in US history and led to massive fuel shortages
- Investigators retrieved 63.7 bitcoin paid by the company to regain access to its systems
The Justice Department on Monday recovered some US$2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline, cracking down on hackers who launched the most disruptive US cyberattack on record.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said investigators had seized 63.7 bitcoin, now valued at about US$2.3 million, paid by Colonial after last month‘s hack of its systems that led to massive shortages at US East Coast petrol stations.
The Justice Department has “found and recaptured the majority” of the ransom paid by Colonial, Monaco said.
An affidavit filed on Monday said the FBI was in possession of a private key to unlock a bitcoin wallet that had received most of the funds. It was unclear how the FBI gained access to the key. A judge in San Francisco approved the seizure of funds from this “cryptocurrency address”, which the filing said was located in the Northern District of California.
Colonial Pipeline had said it paid the hackers nearly US$5 million to regain access. Bitcoin’s value has dropped to around US$34,000 in recent weeks after hitting a high of US$63,000 in April.