U.S. recovers millions in cryptocurrency paid to Colonial Pipeline hackers
07 June 2021
U.S. investigators have recovered millions of dollars in cryptocurrency paid as a ransom to the cybercrime group responsible for the attack that shut down Colonial Pipeline last month, the Justice Department announced Monday.
Driving the news: Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount told the Wall Street Journal he authorized a ransom payment of $4.4 million to the DarkSide cybercrime group on May 7th, in an attempt to restore service of the largest refined fuel pipeline in the U.S.
- The company, however, had notified the FBI and followed instructions to help U.S. investigators track the payment, CNN reported.
- The federal government has for years recommended that companies do not pay those responsible for ransomware attacks due to fears that the transactions would encourage more groups to conduct future attacks.
The big picture: The attack caused gas stations in least 12 states and the District of Columbia to experience gas shortages.
What they're saying: "Ransomware attacks are always unacceptable, but when they target critical infrastructure, we will spare no effort in our response," said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.