Feds offer $10 million reward in hunt for DarkSide ransomware group
The State Department is offering the bounty for information leading to the identification or location of the cybercrime group's key leaders.
The US State Department is offering up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of key leaders of the DarkSide cybercrime group, which it says was responsible for the ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline earlier this year.
Colonial paid millions of dollars in Bitcoin to regain control of its computer systems but was still forced to shut down its pipeline for days, resulting in gasoline price spikes on the East Coast. Some of that money was later recovered.
In addition, the State Department said it's offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who attempts to participate in a DarkSide variant ransomware attack.
"In offering this reward, the United States demonstrates its commitment to protecting ransomware victims around the world from exploitation by cyber criminals," the State Department said in a statement.