Colonial Pipeline reportedly pays $5M in cryptocurrency to hackers to end ransomware cyberattack (Source usatoday.com)

The Colonial Pipeline Co. reportedly paid a $5 million ransom to cyberattackers, allowing the vital fuel-shipping system to restart after the hackers had seized control and triggered panic-buying of gasoline throughout the Southeastern U.S. Bloomberg News first reported Thursday that Colonial had paid the money, citing two people familiar with the exchange. CNBC also reported that the company paid the hackers, though it did not say how much.

Earlier this week, the FBI identified a criminal group known as DarkSide as being responsible for the cyberattack. “Once they received the payment, the hackers provided the operator with a decrypting tool to restore its disabled computer network,” Bloomberg reported. The system – which supplies about 45% of the Southeastern region’s fuel, including gasoline and jet fuel – was offline for several days after the attackers struck Friday.