Colonial Pipeline reportedly paid hackers nearly $5 million in ransom, according to multiple reports.
News of the payment was first reported by Bloomberg, and later confirmed by CNN, NBC News amongst others.
Colonial Pipeline shut down its four major pipelines that serve the entire East coast on Friday, when they announced they had been hacked. The company announced Wednesday night they were beginning the process of resuming pipeline operations.
It is not clear when a payment was made.
Officials with the Biden administration have not confirmed a payment was made and have been working with Colonial to build back its networks after the attack.
The company has managed to regain important data that was stolen, according to CNN. Some of that data, though, was recovered because the hackers used servers within the U.S. to store some of the stolen information.
The hackers, identified as DarkSide, are one of a number of groups who operate ransomware attacks; obtaining an organization’s files and holding them hostage while demanding payment.
DarkSide is believed to operate within Russia, however it does not appear they are connected to the Russian government.
