By Raphael Satter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A news release issued on Monday in the name of the cyber group suspected of masterminding the hack of a major U.S. pipeline company threatening the East Coast’s fuel supplies says their goal was to make money and not create problems for society.
The group calling itself DarkSide is the prime suspect in the digital extortion attempt against Colonial Pipeline, a firm responsible for funneling fuel to a huge chunk of the East Coast.
The ransomware outbreak prompted the company to shut down its network, potentially causing extraordinary disruption as gasoline deliveries dry up.
The terse news release posted to DarkSide’s website on Monday did not directly mention Colonial Pipeline but, under the heading “About the latest news,” it noted that “our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society.”
The statement did not say how much money they seek.
DarkSide said its hackers would launch checks on fellow cybercriminals “to avoid social consequences in the future.” The hackers have not returned repeated messages to their website seeking further comment.
(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Howard Goller)
