FBI names 'Darkside' as Colonial Pipeline cyberattacker
The FBI said Monday that the ransomware gang known as "Darkside" was the group responsible for the attack over the weekend that forced the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline networks responsible for carrying gasoline from Texas to the Northeast.
"The FBI confirms that the Darkside ransomware is
responsible for the compromise of the Colonial Pipeline networks," the FBI
said in a statement Monday. "We continue to work with the company and our
government partners on the investigation."
A senior Department of Justice source told FOX Business that
the investigation into the attack is ongoing due to the involvement of
ransomware, labeling the sophistication of the tools involved "very
high."
Darkside announced its existence in August 2020, and claims
it does not attack medical, educational or government targets – only large
corporations – and that it donates a portion of what it takes to charity.
The group will harvest data from a victim’s server, then
encrypt it and request a ransom. The group then will upload the data to a leak
website on the dark web, which will publish should it not receive the ransom,
risking sensitive data loss for any victim organization.
Darkside has advertised stolen documents from more than 80
companies across the U.S. and Europe on its website.
Colonial Pipeline, in a statement Monday, said they are
dedicating resources to "restoring pipeline operations quickly and
safely."
"Segments of our pipeline are being brought back online
in a stepwise fashion, in compliance with relevant federal regulations and in
close consultation with the Department of Energy, which is leading and
coordinating the Federal Government’s response," the company said.
The company added that its operations team is
"executing a plan that involves an incremental process that will
facilitate a return to service in a phased approach"— a plan based on
"a number of factors with safety and compliance driving our operational
decisions, and the goal of substantially restoring operational service by the
end of the week."
"We continue to evaluate product inventory in storage
tanks at our facilities and others along our system and are working with our
shippers to move this product to terminals for local delivery," Colonial
continued. "Actions taken by the Federal Government to issue a temporary
hours of service exemption for motor carriers and drivers transporting refined
products across Colonial’s footprint should help alleviate local supply
disruptions and we thank our government partners for their assistance in
resolving this matter."
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