WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2021) The DarkSide hacking group blamed for fuel disruptions in the United States is disbanding after losing access to its infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing the security research firm FireEye.
"DarkSide has told associates it has lost access to the infrastructure it uses to run its operation and would be shutting down, citing pressure from law enforcement and from the US," the report quoted FireEye.
Security experts warned that it is not uncommon for ransomware groups to disband only to pop up later under a different name.
The US administration said that DarkSide operates from Russia, but refrained from blaming the country's authorities for the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline.
Collonial Pipeline halted its fuel shipments to the East Coast for several days with panic buying exacerbating shortages.
The company reportedly paid DarkSide a $5 million ransom in exchange for a decryption key and the return of their hacked information.
