Infrastructure · May 7, 2021 · 5 min
Colonial Pipeline: DarkSide shuts off fuel on the U.S. East Coast
MedellínSoftware · Medellín, Colombia
May 2021. The country's largest pipeline stops. Lines, a state of emergency, $4.4 million in bitcoin. Russian ransomware against ordinary life.
medellinsoftware.com/story/colonial-pipeline-darkside-eeuu-sin-gasolina/
Ransom
USD 4.4M
Group
DarkSide
Flow
45% of the East Coast
Year
2021
Colonial Pipeline moves nearly half the fuel on the East Coast. On May 7, 2021, DarkSide — ransomware-as-a-service with Russian-speaking operators — encrypted the IT network. The company shut OT as well, out of caution. The pipeline stopped.
There was panic. Lines. States of emergency. The ransom: 75 bitcoin, about $4.4 million. The Justice Department recovered part of it. The country understood, suddenly, that a forgotten VPN ticket can leave a coast without gasoline.
The vector was an old VPN, the company decided to pay, and energy, water, and transport became the next scenario if nobody tests their own network.
The desk
The file is public. The briefing is requested.
AI and deep military intelligence. Medellín.