DarkSide, the hacker group behind the Colonial Pipeline attack, received $90 million in bitcoin over the last 9 months, according to the London-based blockchain analysts at Elliptic.
After identifying and analyzing the wallet used by DarkSide, Elliptic found that the hacker group received $90 million in bitcoin from a total of 47 distinct wallets.
Colonial Pipeline reportedly paid $5 million to the hackers before announcing it would restart its operations again.
The largest US refinery shut two crude units in Port Arthur, Texas a couple weekends ago after hackers caused the Colonial Pipeline to shut down.
Several southeastern states reported long lines at gas stations and gas shortages, prompting governors to declare emergencies.
Last Thursday $5.3 million in bitcoin was emptied from the DarkSide’s wallet. There has been speculation that the $5.3 million in bitcoin was seized by the US government.
Joe Biden last Thursday was asked about the reported ransom paid to the hackers.
This is after the Biden Administration sat back and did nothing and said the cyberattack is a “private sector” problem even though it affected gas distribution in 1/3 of the country.
“Were you briefed on the fact that the company did pay the ransom?” a reporter asked.
It took a few seconds for Biden’s brain to catch up and he finally responded, “I have no comment on that.”