DOJ Seizes $2.3 Million in Cryptocurrency Paid to the Ransomware Extortionists Darkside Colonial Pipeline
AHAHAHAHHAHAHHA... seized 63.7 bitcoins valued at approximately $2.3 million. These funds allegedly represent the proceeds of a May 8, ransom payment to individuals in a group known as DarkSide
Shittlestix are you saying what I think you’re saying…
sheesh but my readers/followers knew about your “signed June 3rd Memo” on June 5th…the Affidavit out of the NDCA is at the bottom of this article - as the DOJ-OPA doesn’t provide you with a link to the Affidavit or Warrant. And I’m really sick of seeing people attacking the Department of Justice and/or the FBI. I have a lot to say on that but the article won’t publish until tomorrow morning because I’m tired of that nonsense. Stop attacking the DOJ and FBI otherwise imma gonna put your unPatriotic and un-American bullshit on full blast. Trying to make a couple of bucks by attacking our DOJ & FBI <—GTFOH with your QANON-for-the-Left nonsense, I’ll (figuratively smack the stupid out of you and I’ll enjoy doing it)
Attachment(s):
Signed Memorandum Ransomware and Digital Extortion
The DOJ just uploaded the following court documents via their OPA - the documents are embedded at the bottom of the Press Release
Paying a ransom is very very bad - don’t do it unless you’re working closely with the Department of Justice and US Treasury
As alleged in the supporting affidavit, by reviewing the Bitcoin public ledger, law enforcement was able to track multiple transfers of bitcoin and identify that approximately 63.7 bitcoins, representing the proceeds of the victim’s ransom payment, had been transferred to a specific address, for which the FBI has the “private key,” or the rough equivalent of a password needed to access assets accessible from the specific Bitcoin address. This bitcoin represents proceeds traceable to a computer intrusion and property involved in money laundering and may be seized pursuant to criminal and civil forfeiture statutes.
For background and in chronological order
June 5, 2021 FINALLY - yes- Alla Witte, aka “Max” banking trojan known as Trickbot
June 3, 2021 DOJ Memo Ransomware Task Force - The upside of the DOJ Ransomware Task Force is it oddly centralizes cases. Meaning the task force can gather intelligence across the intelligence community, track investigations and then coordinate all criminal cases that center around ransomware or related types of cybercrime - for example botnets, money laundering, cryptocurrency to pay ransom and bulletproof hosting.
June 4, 2021 - Paying a ransom is a very very bad idea. Nexus to OFAC, Sanctions… where I literally stated if they paid in Bitcoin maybe I’d be okay with it provided they allowed the DOJ/FBI to put sniffers on it and can claw it back
Colonial Pipeline paid $4,400,000.00 ransom… House Oversight Committee June 3, 2021 Letter to Colonial Pipeline Company, CEO - Joseph Blount - requesting documentation, communiques, cryptocurrency used to pay the $4.4M ransom and explanation of the “worthless” de-encryption key DarkSide sent upon receiving the ransom
March 21, 2021, as previously shared, we detected the ransomware and took immediate action by proactively disconnecting our systems from our network to contain the threat and prevent additional systems from being affected," CNA published on Wednesday May 12, 2021 - this is the CNA 2 page press releaseand that’s when, nearly five weeks later -CNA came clean and shared the totality of the cyber attack
June 3, 2021 - Biden White House National Security Study Memorandum -Fight Against Corruption- ahead of G7 & NATO summits (next week) timing matters…enhancing criminal and civil enforcement under the Global Magnitsky Act, TOP Priority. Also enforcement of the Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.
May 13, 2021 - Colonial Pipeline entering day 7 of the sophisticated cyber attack - restart in progress - updated 5/13/2021 - Biden White House signs an Executive Order - Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity
May 12 - Our critical infrastructure is seriously at risk. Ask Colonial Pipeline what their MTTR is......we are now entering day 6+ of the Colonial Pipeline Ransomeware attack. For years cyber-sec experts have repeatedly sounded the alarms & the need to harden our Critical Infrastructure continues
Application by the United States for a Seizure Warrant for One Account for Investigation of 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A) and Other Offenses (3:21-mj-70945) <—Colonial PipeLine & DarkSide
ECF Link to Affidavit https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/doc1/035020678931 or you can pull it down from my pubic drive
On May 8th - Colonial Pipeline reported to the FBI that its computer network was accessed by an organization named DarkSide and that it had received and paid a ransom demand for approximately 75 bitcoins.…
…reviewing the Bitcoin public ledger, law enforcement was able to track multiple transfers of bitcoin and identify that approximately 63.7 bitcoins, representing the proceeds of the victim’s ransom payment, had been transferred to a specific address, for which the FBI has the “private key,” or the rough equivalent of a password needed to access assets accessible from the specific Bitcoin address.
This bitcoin represents proceeds traceable to a computer intrusion and property involved in money laundering and may be seized pursuant to criminal and civil forfeiture statutes
Also interesting is the ransoms were broken up into two separate wallets - see paragraphs 27 thru 30 and this kind of makes sense why the House OverSight went balls to the wall last week
Oh. My. God. This is freaking amazing work by the FBI and the Department of Justice - Hell YES
Warrant to Seize Property Subject to Forfeiture via ECF https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/doc1/035020678953
I was kind of in a rush to get this article published but here’s the multimedia presentation of today’s action and press conference - if you have the time I’d recommend you watch today’s press conference
https://video.ibm.com/recorded/130010125
or watch this 3 minute condensed video. Because today was a very good day for America and I’m very grateful to the thousands of hardworking men and women of the Department of Justice and especially the FBI. Their dogged pursuit of justice is something to be proud of and lauded.
Excellent writeup and the RADE looks like it has teeth - LMTA - just filed my take
I couldn’t be happier with the FBI and DOJ... they’ve been working around the clock and busting ass!!!