Biden administration mentioned one of many suspected hackers arrested in Russia was in charge for the Colonial Pipeline assault
The Biden administration is “happy” about Russia arresting a number of suspected hackers, together with one allegedly behind the ransomware assault that led to week-long gas shortages final yr.
A senior administration official, talking with reporters on Friday, mentioned Moscow had knowledgeable Washington in regards to the arrests, and that one of many people concerned was accountable for the Might 2021 assault that crippled the Colonial Pipeline.
“I need to be very clear: In our thoughts, this isn’t associated to what’s taking place with Russia and Ukraine. I do not communicate for the federal government’s motives, however we’re happy with these preliminary actions,” mentioned the unnamed official, in response to Axios.
The US has been accusing Russia of planning an “invasion” of Ukraine for a number of weeks now, with Moscow dismissing the allegations as “pretend information.”
Earlier on Friday, Russia’s Federal Safety Service (FSB) introduced it had performed raids in three areas – Moscow, St. Petersburg and Lipetsk – concentrating on suspected hackers, after receiving a discover from US authorities about their alleged felony exercise.
The lads arrested have been reportedly members of REvil, a hacking group that specialised in ransomware assaults, and was blamed for the June 2021 assault on the meat processing conglomerate JBS and the US-based IT administration platform Kaseya in July.
The Colonial Pipeline assault was initially attributed to a unique gang, known as DarkSide. The corporate, which runs the pipeline offering a lot of the southern and japanese US with gas, shut down operations for a number of days in Might 2021, after the ransomware assault affected its automated invoicing service.
The week-long disruption in provide induced gas shortages throughout a number of states and Washington, DC. Colonial’s CEO Joseph Blount later admitted that he paid $4.4 million in ransom to the hackers, saying it was “the best factor to do for the nation.”
The next month, the FBI additionally blamed DarkSide for the assault, boasting that it had seized about $2.3 million in bitcoin from their accounts.
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