DarkSide, a new cybercriminal hacking group on the dark web, has taken America by storm by revealing
the weaknesses of key infrastructures. The FBI identified the hackers as responsible for a massive
ransomware attack which has resulted in the disruption of approximately half of the gasoline and jet
fuel supplies along the East Coast.
Colonial Pipeline, a private company which controls pipelines running from the Texas Gulf Coast to the
New York Harbor, was offline for four (4) days as a measure of caution to prevent the attack from
spreading throughout the company’s control system. Intelligence officials believe this attack was an act
of monetary extortion which began in August of 2020.
President Joe Biden recently announced that DarkSide would be prosecuted for their hacking activities.
Moreover, it is reported that the President will be issuing an executive order to improve the country’s
cyber defense mechanisms. While the United States has struggled to protect its infrastructure from
cyber attacks for years, it is no surprise that this recent attack has exposed the slow progress being
made.
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