Colonial Pipeline transports gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil from refineries. The pipeline network extends from Texas to New Jersey.
The oil pipeline was hacked in May with a ransomware virus.
This led to a halt in the supply of gasoline and other fuels used on the populous east coast of the United States.
Only after that the company had paid $ 4.4 million – around 40 million kroner – in ransom, they could use the cable again.
The hacker group Darkside themselves have said that they are behind the attack. The group is described by Western security experts as a criminal network.
Deputy Justice Minister Lisa Monaco spoke on Monday about the operation where they have taken back money from the hackers.
Photo: JONATHAN ERNST / AFP
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Took back money
After the attack, the United States created a digital task force to fight hackers.
On Monday, US authorities said they had succeeded in an operation to recover the money.
The FBI must have managed to track down some of the money and seize it.
The hackers got paid in the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Deputy Justice Minister Lisa Monaco says they have seized 63.7 bitcoin.
This is equivalent to around 2.3 million dollars today, but because bitcoin has fallen sharply in price recently, most of the money that the hackers were paid out.
In total, the hackers were paid 75 bitcoin in ransom.
First time
This is the first time the authorities have carried out such an action against hackers.
Because cybercrime is international, it is often difficult to prosecute criminals.
Vice president of computer security company Mandiant, John Hultquist, told Reuters that today it is only a dream to be able to prosecute.
He praises the efforts of the FBI and says that disrupting the hackers’ activities is the only thing that works.
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