FBI Stops the Bitcoin ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline.
The agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) managed to deflect bitcoin funds that were stolen through a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline. The move emerged in a massive blow to BTC. The cryptocurrency experienced another huge drop over the last weekend.
How did the FBI deflect a BTC Payment?
The FBI now came up with more details about the interception. The agency states that they were not able to find any security issues with the bitcoin units. Instead, they were able to stop the transaction on its way because the hackers utilized “sloppy storage.”
It is still unclear how the FBI made such a swift move. The agency didn’t want to reveal its secrets but it has addressed the public that around $2.3 million paid by the Colonial Pipeline has been recovered last week.
“I do not want to give up our tradecraft in case we want to use this again for future endeavors.”
Elvis Chan, assistant special agent with the FBI San Francisco office
It seems like the money was meant for a cyber gang known as Dark Side. The organization made a huge mistake that it used a payment server to acquire the ransom. The FBI assured that it is somewhat easy to trace.
“Following the money remains one of the most basic, yet powerful tools we have.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco
“Because transnational organized criminal groups are facilitating these payments in cryptocurrency, and because of the transparency and traceability that cryptocurrency provides, you can actually more effectively follow the money and potentially mitigate and arrest illicit activity within this ecosystem than you can with traditional finance and fiat currencies and payments.”
Jesse Spiro – global head of policy at blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis
Are the poor storage tactics to blame?
Because of a few details available, some are speculating on how the FBI was able to engage in a rapid retraction of the funds. The founding partner at Castle Ventures, Nic Carter, believes that the agency was able to infiltrate a server that has the data about the private keys for the crypto wallet that holds the money. Also, because the criminal organization in question did not have the proper security measures planted:
“Bitcoin itself functioned perfectly, but what functioned imperfectly was their system of storing your private keys… If you want to store your coins truly outside of the reach of the state, you can just hold those private keys directly. That is the equivalent of burying a bar of gold in your backyard.”
Now, Bitcoin has risen to around $35,000 per unit. It is $3,000 higher than it was last week.
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