US DOJ Recovers Bitcoin Paid To Colonial Pipeline Hackers: Report

US DOJ recovers Bitcoin that was paid to Colonial Pipeline hackers worth $4.4 million and now Biden’s Administration is treating ransomware as a security issue so let’s read more in our latest Bitcoin news today.

The US DOJ recovers the funds that were paid to the Colonial Pipeline hackers which managed to shut down the East Coast oil pipeline for a week back in May. The company paid $4.4 million in BTC to take back control of its system. As per the warrant filed with the US District Court in the Northern District of California announced by the US DOJ, the government seized 63 BTC that were taken in the attack and the warrant seems to point to a little-used wallet that had only one transaction. The news came after President Biden embarked on an overseas trip where he will discuss ransomware with G7 leaders as well as with the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a press conference:

“The sophisticated use of technology to hold businesses and even whole cities hostage for profit is decidedly a 21st century challenge, but the old adage of follow the money still applies.”

The Russian hack group DarkSide is believed to be responsible for the Colonial Pipeline attack and we also saw US-based meat producer JBS being attacked at the same time and the same manner by another Russian hack group, ReviL. Ransomware is malicious software that locks owners out of the computer or network and it became a critical political issue as of late. The Department of Justice said last week that it will treat ransom attacks the same way they do terrorism. Ransomware attacks cost affected businesses millions in crypto payments and Dark Side alone managed to make up to $90 million so far. The attacks however are taking a toll on individual customers as well who have to navigate shortages and outages. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a briefing:

“Ransomware is a national security priority, particularly as it relates to ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure in the United States. And we will treat it as such at the G7. We will treat it as such on every stop along the way on this trip.”

Source: https://www.dcforecasts.com/bitcoin-scams/us-doj-recovers-bitcoin-paid-to-colonial-pipeline-hackers-report/