U.S authorities have managed to recover millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, that was paid in ransom to the Colonial Pipeline Hackers.
Last month, America’s key East Coast gas pipeline was taken offline by a Russian hacker group known as “Darkside”.
The investigation was led by the FBI, in association with Colonial, and the Justice Department is expected to provide more details on the matter in the next few hours
“Earlier today, the Department of Justice has found and recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network in the wake of last month’s ransomware attack. Ransomware attacks are always unacceptable — but when they target critical infrastructure, we will spare no effort in our response,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at a news conference on Monday afternoon local time.
“Today, we turned the tables on DarkSide,”
“By going after the entire ecosystem that fuels ransomware and digital extortion attacks, including criminal proceeds in the form of digital currency, we will continue to use all of our tools, and all of our resources to increase the cost and the consequences of ransomware attacks and other cyber-enabled attacks.”
Colonial initially complied with the $4.4 million ransom demand, due to the impact of the outage, and the uncertainty surrounding when operations would be able to resume.
However, behind closed doors, it’s now apparent that the company was working hand-in-hand with the FBI, to track the cryptocurrency wallet used by the hackers.
This follows previous reports that U.S officials were looking for holes in the hackers’ operations so they could identify the group behind the attack.
US to treat ransomware attacks with same priority as terrorism
Earlier reports found that internal guidance sent to U.S. attorney’s offices across the America stated information about ransomware investigations in the field should be centrally coordinated with a recently created task force in Washington.
The cyber hack caused a shutdown lasting several days, led to a spike in gas prices, panic buying and localised fuel shortages in the southeast.
Joseph Blount is the CEO of the Colonial Pipeline. He told the Wall Street Journal the ransom was a “highly controversial decision”. But he conceded it “was the right thing to do for the country”.
The 8,900 kilometre pipeline carries 2.5 million barrels a day, or 45 percent of the east coast’s supply of critical fuel supplies.
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An upcoming inflation report will assess the strength of the U.S. stock market rally and influence the Federal Reserve’s rate cut strategy.
The S&P 500 has recorded its third consecutive weekly gain, increasing over 27% year-to-date.
This upward momentum in equities is influenced by expectations of additional Fed interest rate cuts amid a resilient economy.
Friday’s employment report indicated stronger than expected job growth, reinforcing this positive outlook. However, this data is not expected to change the Fed’s rate plans for its upcoming December meeting.
The consumer price index data due on Wednesday may alter this optimistic sentiment if inflation exceeds expectations, posing risks for well-performing stocks.
Experts note that if inflation rates are high, it could create uncertainty for investors before the Fed meeting.
Following the recent jobs report, the probability of the Fed cutting rates has increased, with nearly a 90% chance predicted for a 25 basis point cut.
The consumer price index is expected to rise by 2.7% over the past year.
If CPI results are higher than expected, it might prompt a cautious approach on future cuts, affecting outlooks for 2025.
Additionally, inflation concerns are heightened by the potential introduction of tariffs by President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite these factors, stock prices continue to rise, although there are warning signs of overly optimistic sentiment in the market.
Some analysts maintain a positive view on stocks heading into the year-end, citing a reduction in concerns surrounding the economy and interest rates.
David Sacks has been appointed by President-elect Donald Trump as the White House’s artificial intelligence and crypto czar.
Sacks, a former COO of PayPal, co-founded Craft Ventures and has invested in notable tech companies.
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social, emphasizing Sacks’ role in enhancing America’s leadership in AI and crypto, while protecting free speech and combating Big Tech censorship.
Sacks has previously supported Trump, hosting high-profile fundraisers and discussing political issues on his “All-In” podcast.
Critical of Trump
While he has made donations to various political figures across the spectrum, Sacks has been critical of Trump in the past, especially regarding the January 6 Capitol riot.
His appointment reflects Trump’s strategy of filling his administration with supporters from Silicon Valley and Wall Street who may favor less stringent tech regulations.
Sacks will be tasked with establishing a legal framework for cryptocurrencies in the U.S. and will head a presidential advisory council on science and technology.
This position is notable as the Biden administration has not designated a counterpart for crypto and AI.