FBI Confirms DarkSide Ransomware Behind Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack

Holding tanks are seen at Colonial Pipeline's Linden Junction Tank Farm in Woodbridge, New Jersey, U.S. in an undated photograph. Colonial Pipeline/Handout via Reuters

The FBI on Monday confirmed that the DarkSide ransomware was used in the hack of the Colonial Pipeline, which prompted the U.S. Department of Transportation on Sunday to declare a state of emergency for 17 states due to potential fuel shortages.

The law enforcement agency said that the DarkSide cybercriminal ring stole a large amount of data before it locked Colonial’s computers with ransomware—considered possibly the most destructive ransomware attack so far.