First on CNN: US investigators have recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency paid in ransom to hackers whose attack prompted the shutdown of the key East Coast pipeline last month, according to people briefed on the matter.
The Justice Department on Monday is expected to announce details of the operation led by the FBI with the cooperation of the Colonial Pipeline operator, the people briefed on the matter said.
A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment, and CNN has reached out to the Colonial Pipeline operator. "The misuse of cryptocurrency is a massive enabler here," Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger told CNN."That's the way folks get the money out of it. On the rise of anonymity and enhancing cryptocurrencies, the rise of mixer services that essentially launder funds."
One of the sources noted that helping recover money paid to ransomware actors is certainly an area where the US government can provide assistance but noted that success varies dramatically and largely depends on whether there are holes in the attackers' system that can be identified and exploited. CNN previously reported that there are indications the individual actors that attacked Colonial, in conjunction with DarkSide, may have been inexperienced or novice hackers, rather than well-seasoned professionals, according to three sources familiar with the Colonial investigation.
"In the Bitcoin era, laundering money is something that any nerd can do. You don't need a big organized crime apparatus anymore," according to Alex Stamos, former Facebook chief security officer, co-founder Krebs Stamos Group.
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