Over the weekend , a cyberattack by the Russia - based ransomware mob DarkSide care to hamstring America ’s largest oil pipeline , Colonial , threatening to choke off meaning Department of Energy flowing to the East Coast .
PerBloomberg News , the bunch pilfered close to 100 GB of data from the company ’s IT meshwork in just two hours on Thursday . The attack was part of what is recognise as a “ bivalent extortion schema , ” a tactic used by criminal groups in which they slip and then threaten to leak significant amounts of data from a eminent - note value target in an crusade to wring from money from the victim . A coalition of individual companies , along with major government agencies like the FBI , the NSA , and CISA , apparentlyworked together to stopfurther data theft from occurring .
The Biden administration acknowledged the attack Monday , with the Presidentcalling the incidenta “ criminal act , obviously . ” Biden also said that he planned to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the attack and that he would encourage him to take “ some responsibleness to cover with this . ”
Photo: Michael M. Santiago (Getty Images)
Like all unscrupulous businessmen , the member of DarkSide have sought to impress upon their dupe that the approach was just business sector , and nothing personal . On Monday , a statement publish to the gang ’s website emphasized that their “ finish is to make money ” and that they are not concerned in “ make problems for society . ” The group express :
We are apolitical , we do not participate in geopolitics , do not need to tie us with a specify goverment [ sic ] and look for other our motives . Our destination is to make money , and not create problems for society . From today we insert temperance and check each fellowship that our cooperator require to encrypt to quash social consequences in the future tense .
The crowd originally come forth last summer , with the first known sighting of it in August , sound out Ekram Ahmed of security house Check Point Research . DarkSide operates via a Ransomware - as - a - Service good example , by which it sells its malware to affiliate group , who then use it in attacks . The malware has been used in other former attacks against other DOE company . “ What we do know is that to take down extensive operations like the Colonial pipeline reveals a sophisticated and well - designed cyber onset , ” suppose Lotem Finkelsteen , question of threat word with Check Point .
You ’d think it would be backbreaking to stand out in a year that has watch a veritable linebacker blitzing of cyberattacks , each one seemingly more calamitous than the next ( see : SolarWinds , Microsoft Exchange , thePulseVPNattacks , and more ) . Yet this is on the button what DarkSide has managed to do — both via its Batman baddie - same power to spur a coastal energy crisis , and its sheeplike excuse for , like , make trouble or whatever .
As disastrous as the incident may be for Colonial , it is likely a blessing to the current , ongoing efforts to elevate U.S. cyber policy . The political impact of the attack will likely only be to further strengthen the argument that America needs to take a more belligerent , proactive and organise approach when it comes to tracking and combatting cybercriminal groups — something that those in the cyber communityhave been buttonhole forfor some clip .
On top of this , the fact that a coalescence of private sector companiesled the chargeto assist in containing the side effect from the incident only further belies the argumentation , oft made by security professionals , that the solution to these attack will be fashion in a holistic confederation between the public and individual sphere .
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