Did Colonial Pipeline pay ransom in Bitcoin?

On 13 May, the general public learned that Colonial Pipeline paid approximately 75 Bitcoins, or around US$5M, in ransom. On 7 June, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that it recovered nearly $2.3M of the stolen funds using money flow analysis and other investigative techniques.

How was the pipeline ransom recovered?

During a press conference Monday, top federal law enforcement officials explained that the money was recovered by a recently launched Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force, which had been created as part of the government’s response to a surge of cyberattacks.

How much of the Colonial Pipeline ransom was recovered?

$2.3 million
Following the crypto breadcrumbs On June 7, the DOJ recovered some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline, cracking down on hackers who had launched the most disruptive U.S. cyberattack on record.

How did FBI get Bitcoin key?

“By reviewing the bitcoin public ledger, law enforcement was able to track multiple transfers of bitcoin and identify that approximately 63.7 bitcoins, representing the proceeds of the victim’s ransom payment, had been transferred to a specific address, for which the FBI has the ‘private key,'” Deputy U.S. Attorney …

How did the FBI get Bitcoin?

Justice Department officials in November said they had seized roughly $1 billion in cryptocurrency associated with the Silk Road online black market. In January, law-enforcement officials said that the Justice Department had seized more than $454,000 in crypto from a ransomware group known as NetWalker.

Can bitcoins be seized?

Collection – Law enforcement must have its own bitcoin wallet to store seized bitcoins. If the bitcoin wallet is not encrypted, law enforcement has complete access (provided proper warrants have been obtained for the seizure of the device).