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US Declares Rs 74.35 Cr Reward To Arrest DarkSide Ransomware Gang Operators
NEW DELHI: The US State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million (Rs 74.35 Crore) on Thursday for information leading to the identification or location of anyone with a prominent leadership position in DarkSide, a cybercrime gang based in Russia.
According to the FBI, DarkSide was behind the May cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline, which resulted in a days-long outage that triggered a spike in gas prices, panic buying, and localised gasoline shortages in the United States Southeast.
In addition, the State Department offered a $5 million prize for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anybody attempting to participate in a DarkSide ransomware outbreak in any country.
The government also claimed that by awarding this reward, the United States demonstrates its commitment to defending ransomware victims around the world from cybercriminal assault.
Colonial Pipeline reported that it paid the hackers around $5 million in Bitcoin to reclaim access to its systems. The US Justice Department collected around $2.3 million of the ransom in June.
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In July, the State Department announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification or location of anyone who participates in hostile cyber operations against critical infrastructure in the United States while working at the direction or under the authority of a foreign government.
Several cyber-attacks have previously occurred in Iran, including one in July when the transport ministry’s website was shut down due to a “cyber disruption”. Iran claims to be on high alert for cyber-attacks, which it has historically blamed on its arch-enemies – the US and Israel.
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Meanwhile, the US and other Western countries have accused Iran of meddling with and breaching their networks. According to official broadcaster IRIB, “a cyberattack triggered the breakdown in the refuelling system of gas stations… in the preceding several hours.” It went on to state that technical staff had resolved the issue and that the refuelling procedure would shortly resume normally.
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