After a decade or so of ransomware attacks against sometimes very prominent targets, the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack by the Darkside gang has been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, as the attack was followed by a temporary shut down of the pipeline, which then led to widespread fuel shortages in the Southeast United States and the government issuing a state of emergency for 18 states. The Darkside gang, which operates a Ransomware-as-a-Service, realized they had stirred up a hornet’s nest and tried to ameliorate the situation by stating they are not politically motivated and that they will, in the future, check each company that their partners want to encrypt “to avoid social consequences.” Soon after, the gang said that they lost access to the public part of their infrastructure and that they will be releasing decryption tools for all of the companies that have been hit but haven’t paid the ransom.

Read full article on Help Net Security