By Nelson Oliveira,
Colonial Pipeline paid almost $5 million in ransom to the hackers behind last weekend’s cyberattack on the company’s network, which led to a six-day shutdown and gas shortages across the Southeast, two people familiar with the payment told Bloomberg News.
The Georgia-based company appears to have paid the ransom in cryptocurrency just hours after the attack, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The article, which could not be independently confirmed by the Daily News, contradicts earlier reports that Colonial had no intention of paying any ransom. The company’s press office did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday morning.
The FBI said the cyberattack came from a Russia-based hacking group called DarkSide, which is known for digital extortions.
Colonial began restarting operations Wednesday and said all its markets would begin receiving fuel by noon on Thursday.
The 5,500-mile pipeline is one of the biggest fuel arteries in the country, delivering nearly half of the gas used on the Eastern seaboard. The system pumps about 100 million gallons of fuel from Houston to New York Harbor every day.