DarkSide Wanted Money, Not Disruption from Colonial Pipeline Attack

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Threat actors behind last week’s Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that crippled a major U.S. oil pipeline said that financial gain–not political, economic or social disruption–is the goal of their nefarious activities, vowing to choose their targets more carefully in the future.
 
The statement, which published reports said was posted on the DarkSide ransomware gang’s website, is a rare about-face for a known cybercriminal group, which the FBI deemed responsible for the cyberattack that halted pipeline activities for Colonial Pipeline Co. Cybercriminals are typically a proud and boastful bunch that rarely, if ever, show any type of regret or remorse for their attacks.
 
However, as the DarkSide gang’s chief aim is to extort money from their clients by collecting ransom, attackers now realize they may have been barking up the wrong tree in attacking a major oil pipeline that supplies the East Coast with roughly 45 percent of its liquid fuels.
 
“Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society,” according to the statement by the DarkSide gang. “From today we introduce moderation and check each company that our partners want to encrypt to avoid social consequences in the future.”
 
The gang asserted in the statement that they are “apolitical” and don’t want to be tied to any government activity or disruptions.
 
The statement reflects DarkSide’s code of ethics which, like similar Robin Hood wannabes, prohibits attacks against hospitals, hospices, schools, universities, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.
It also seems to suggest that the attack, which prompted the Biden administration to declare a state of emergency across 17 states and Washington D.C., was a mistake on the part of the group.

Read more: DarkSide Wanted Money, Not Disruption from Colonial Pipeline Attack | Threatpost