Colonial Pipeline Ransom From Bitcoin Wallet Recovered

[iota]

** NOTE ** thanks Chris! for moving it to its own thread. it appears that BITCOIN and Cryptocurrency in general will be the subject of both attack and MISinformation ... this is likely to have an impact on economy around the world and it will be crucial to be informed of TRUTH vs "propaganda"



https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAKOa7s.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

a few hours ago


US Feds Seized Most of $4.4 Million
Colonial Pipeline Ransom From Bitcoin Wallet

Gateway Pundit reported:

"Well isn’t this interesting.

The Justice Department on Monday announced it seized most of the $4.3 million in Bitcoin (75 BTC) ransom Colonial Pipeline paid to hackers.

The largest US refinery shut two crude units in Port Arthur, Texas last month after hackers caused the Colonial Pipeline to shut down.

Colonial Pipeline paid $4.3 million in Bitcoin to the hackers before announcing it would restart its operations again.

The FBI said Monday during a presser the bureau was able to identify the Bitcoin wallet used by the DarkSide hackers and recover $2.26 million (63.7 BTC).

According to court documents, the FBI was able to identify the wallet through the blockchain public ledger.

“After Colonial Pipeline’s quick notification to law enforcement, and pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California earlier today, the Department of Justice has found and recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network in the wake of last month’s ransomware attack,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said on Monday during a press conference.

“Today the FBI successfully seized criminal proceeds from a Bitcoin wallet that DarkSide ransomware actors used to collect a cyber ransom payment from a victim,” FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said Monday.


full article here:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/06/us-feds-seized-4-4-million-colonial-pipeline-ransom-bitcoin-wallet/


ZQByvmX6QGY

On the surface this would appear to be great news! however, the implications on privacy i'm sure came as a surprise to many.

When asked if this was the first time the government had ever done this? Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco replied:



It's not the first time the government has ever seized Cryptocurrency in connection with Ransomware attack.

This is the first such seizure that the Ransomware Taskforce has undertaken.

For more info on cryptocurrency? Jayke started an awesome thread here (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?113968-Cryptocurrency-which-alt-coins-are-the-globalist-corporations-backing-and-why&highlight=bitcoin)



Thread: Cryptocurrency: which alt-coins are the globalist corporations backing and why? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?113968-Cryptocurrency-which-alt-coins-are-the-globalist-corporations-backing-and-why&highlight=bitcoin)


the thing that caught MY eye was MSM said:




"The FBI tracked the payments to a bitcoin wallet, for which it happened to have the password."

source here (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-fbi-recovered-a-huge-chunk-of-the-colonial-pipeline-ransom-by-secretly-gaining-access-to-darksides-bitcoin-wallet-password/ar-AAKOhRn)

and i just have to wonder .. HOW did they "happen to have" it?

and HOW many more is this the case for?

i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one asking these questions ...

[Blastolabs]

and i just have to wonder .. HOW did they "happen to have" it?

and HOW many more is this the case for?

i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one asking these questions ...

I'm fairly familiar with Bitcoin and this whole story makes no sense.

The FBI wants us to believe that hackers were able to gain access to the servers for a giant oil company and shut them down.

They were paid 4 million dollars via bitcoin.

At this point the bitcoins were anonymous and only tied to a bitcoin address.

These "elite hackers" then transferred the bitcoin to a well regulated and monitored bitcoin exchange in which the EXCHANGE OWNS THE KEYS.

So when the FBI saw this they simply contacted the exchange and said, "This money is stolen give it to us"

It would have only taken say 20 minutes and maybe $40 in fees to transfer the anonymous but traceable bitcoin to a truly anonymous crypto currency such as Monero.

Now you have truly anonymous 4 million dollars which you could then attempt to cash out a variety of ways.

There is NO WAY any "hackers" would be dealing with bitcoin in such a stupid way to get the money taken like this.

The black market that exists on the dark web began the shift to monero 5 years ago, and now at this point dark web markets do not even accept bitcoin as payment.


It shows how "the sociopaths" really do think we are all a bunch of idiots, as anyone who has any experience with crypto currency will immediately notice.

On Reddit.com/r/Bitcoin the vast majority of users immediately knew the story made no sense, meanwhile the media has backed up the FBI's story like it makes total sense.

[iota]

and i just have to wonder .. HOW did they "happen to have" it?

and HOW many more is this the case for?

i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one asking these questions ...

I'm fairly familiar with Bitcoin and this whole story makes no sense.

The FBI wants us to believe that hackers were able to gain access to the servers for a giant oil company and shut them down.

They were paid 4 million dollars via bitcoin.

At this point the bitcoins were anonymous and only tied to a bitcoin address.

These "elite hackers" then transferred the bitcoin to a well regulated and monitored bitcoin exchange in which the EXCHANGE OWNS THE KEYS.

So when the FBI saw this they simply contacted the exchange and said, "This money is stolen give it to us"

It would have only taken say 20 minutes and maybe $40 in fees to transfer the anonymous but traceable bitcoin to a truly anonymous crypto currency such as Monero.

Now you have truly anonymous 4 million dollars which you could then attempt to cash out a variety of ways.

There is NO WAY any "hackers" would be dealing with bitcoin in such a stupid way to get the money taken like this.

The black market that exists on the dark web began the shift to monero 5 years ago, and now at this point dark web markets do not even accept bitcoin as payment.


It shows how "the sociopaths" really do think we are all a bunch of idiots, as anyone who has any experience with crypto currency will immediately notice.

On Reddit.com/r/Bitcoin the vast majority of users immediately knew the story made no sense, meanwhile the media has backed up the FBI's story like it makes total sense.

Thanks for breaking that down Blastolabs! :sun:

and contrary to popular belief COINbase was NOT the exchange hacked .. it was Gemini ... (see image below)




https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F8bJiRid.jpg&t=626&c=evKHr4eG6QQPVg


Several days ago they claimed how FBI seized some server that was hired by hackers. Most of the buzz is wondering what "new hack" will be paraded soon to justify increased regulations that will, of course, reduce privacy for every day people

There seems to be a targeted and prevalent attack on Bitcoin at the moment and a great deal of effort to undermine the safety and security of this coin. The truth is its pretty impossible for the encryption of Bitcoin to be cracked!

i'm posting a guide below which will explain why ...


https://www.pluralsight.com/guides/the-cryptography-of-bitcoin

[Mike Gorman]

Another perspective on this: Bitcoin can be very securely stored in a private wallet, if these 'criminals' knew their Crypto they would have had at least a hardware wallet, a kind of USB stick which you can easily transport and conceal
No professional standard hacker would work in this way, it is just sloppy, I suspect the entire event was staged, to kill two birds with the one stone - discredit Bitcoin as a secure currency, and disrupt the petrol supply as part of the general disruption of life for average citizens. The Pandemic and the vaccines are not exactly high quality life conditions, this administration has guaranteed that fossil fuels will be phased out, it is all part of the Billionaire club that is driving Davos/Reset agendas. This just doesn't ring true, the entire hack-attack was staged and planned out, and they used their own Bitcoin strategy to seal the whole deal. An opinion.

[Watching from Cyprus]

https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAKOa7s.img?h=416&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

a few hours ago


US Feds Seized Most of $4.4 Million
Colonial Pipeline Ransom From Bitcoin Wallet

Gateway Pundit reported:

"Well isn’t this interesting.

The Justice Department on Monday announced it seized most of the $4.3 million in Bitcoin (75 BTC) ransom Colonial Pipeline paid to hackers.

The largest US refinery shut two crude units in Port Arthur, Texas last month after hackers caused the Colonial Pipeline to shut down.

Colonial Pipeline paid $4.3 million in Bitcoin to the hackers before announcing it would restart its operations again.

The FBI said Monday during a presser the bureau was able to identify the Bitcoin wallet used by the DarkSide hackers and recover $2.26 million (63.7 BTC).

According to court documents, the FBI was able to identify the wallet through the blockchain public ledger.

“After Colonial Pipeline’s quick notification to law enforcement, and pursuant to a seizure warrant issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California earlier today, the Department of Justice has found and recaptured the majority of the ransom Colonial paid to the DarkSide network in the wake of last month’s ransomware attack,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said on Monday during a press conference.

“Today the FBI successfully seized criminal proceeds from a Bitcoin wallet that DarkSide ransomware actors used to collect a cyber ransom payment from a victim,” FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said Monday.


full article here:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/06/us-feds-seized-4-4-million-colonial-pipeline-ransom-bitcoin-wallet/


ZQByvmX6QGY

On the surface this would appear to be great news! however, the implications on privacy i'm sure came as a surprise to many.

When asked if this was the first time the government had ever done this? Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco replied:



It's not the first time the government has ever seized Cryptocurrency in connection with Ransomware attack.

This is the first such seizure that the Ransomware Taskforce has undertaken.

For more info on cryptocurrency? Jayke started an awesome thread here (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?113968-Cryptocurrency-which-alt-coins-are-the-globalist-corporations-backing-and-why&highlight=bitcoin)



Thread: Cryptocurrency: which alt-coins are the globalist corporations backing and why? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?113968-Cryptocurrency-which-alt-coins-are-the-globalist-corporations-backing-and-why&highlight=bitcoin)


the thing that caught MY eye was MSM said:




"The FBI tracked the payments to a bitcoin wallet, for which it happened to have the password."

source here (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-fbi-recovered-a-huge-chunk-of-the-colonial-pipeline-ransom-by-secretly-gaining-access-to-darksides-bitcoin-wallet-password/ar-AAKOhRn)

and i just have to wonder .. HOW did they "happen to have" it?

and HOW many more is this the case for?

i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one asking these questions ...

Thank you, This is just another lie perpetrated via the US Gov. All this fake statement, was made to cull the Crypto market and blame it on Russia.. Thats all.

How can these liars live with themselves.. or are they all clones ?

Love from Moi

[iota]

https://media.8kun.top/file_store/27597738dc238197d50b31ae0b3a6e9bc26d4380467b38a8dd5418283fd0e8b2.png

Hackers behind Colonial Pipeline attack reportedly received
$90 million in bitcoin before shutting down



"LONDON — DarkSide, the hacker group behind the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, received a total of $90 million in bitcoin ransom payments before shutting down last week, according to new research.

Colonial Pipeline was hit with a devastating cyberattack earlier this month that forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of pipeline in the United States, crippling gas delivery systems in Southeastern states. The FBI blamed the attack on DarkSide, a cybercriminal gang believed to be based in Eastern Europe, and Colonial reportedly paid a $5 million ransom to the group.

DarkSide operates what’s known as a “ransomware as a service” business model, meaning the hackers develop and market ransomware tools and sell them to other criminals who then carry out attacks. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that’s designed to block access to a computer system. Hackers demand a ransom payment — typically cryptocurrency — in return for restoring access.

On Friday, London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said it had identified the bitcoin wallet used by DarkSide to collect ransom payments from its victims. The same day, security researchers Intel 471 said DarkSide had closed down after losing access to its servers and as its cryptocurrency wallets were emptied. DarkSide also blamed “pressure from the U.S.,” according to a note obtained by Intel 471.

In a blog post Tuesday, Elliptic said DarkSide and its affiliates bagged at least $90 million in bitcoin ransom payments over the past nine months from 47 victims. The average payment from organizations was likely $1.9 million, Elliptic said."

source (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/colonial-pipeline-hackers-darkside-received-90-million-in-bitcoin.html)

of note is the fact that this came on the same day that President Biden proposes adding billions of dollars tied to improving cybersecurity to his infrastructure proposal according to Zerohedge

read article here:
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/colonial-pipeline-shippers-say-comms-system-down