Faceless group of hackers responsible for Colonial Pipeline shutdown

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A faceless group of hackers are responsible for the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, a major gas artery for most of the east coast but not Florida.

The hackers conducted what’s known as a ransomware attack. Once they gain access to your system their goal is to take control.

A cyber attack like this could happen anywhere including your place of work or at your child’s school. Once in the brain of the computer, a hacker can take control of the entire nervous system and can use any artery to start the shutdown.

The FBI said that’s exactly what the DarkSide did.

They stoked fear into Southwest Florida. A gang of suspected Russian hackers stopped gas flow in the Colonial Pipeline causing Governor Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency and sending people fearing gas shortages rushing to the pumps. The group also released its next targets.

“Here’s the next hit list of who we’re going to do,” said Cigent Cyber Security Expert Greg Scasny. “If you pay us then we won’t do it right?  So now it’s pre-ransomware attacks.”

Scasny warned the threats shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“There at trillions of dollars lost every year,” Scasny noted. “You don’t hear of many people getting caught.”

In February, hackers tried to poison a Florida water system, something Scasny said is a huge concern for all systems. He warned an even bigger hack is possible fearing an electrical grid attack.

“We’ve been warning about this for a very long time,” he said.

Signaling more ransomware attacks from the criminal gang is likely. Cybersecurity experts warn companies to take a risk assessment to find out how vulnerable their systems are to make sure the DarkSide doesn’t have its eye on you.

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