Cyber Attack on the Colonial pipeline.

[6Blake]

     Last Thursday on May 6th, the Colonial pipeline was crippled after a cyberattack event took place. The colonial pipeline is a major gas line that carries nearly 100 million gallons of fuel per day. This pipeline is one of the largest in the United States and operates in more than 18 states, mostly on the east coast. This event affected millions of people and caused a state of emergency in three states which include; Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Many civilians in these affected states were only allowed a certain amount of gas for this time period. In some cases, these civilians had to travel more than 50 miles for a full gas tank.  The hackers behind this event are affiliated with an organization known as "Darkside".

     Darkside is a criminal hacking organization based in Russia. The hackers would only release control of the pipeline if the Colonial pipeline were to pay a 5 million dollar ransom. Colonial, paid the ransom which freed the pipeline thus fueling the east coast once more and putting an end to this scare. Biden has stated that the United States would not rule out a retaliatory strike against Darkside that would, "Disrupt their ability to operate." Soon after Biden's statement, Darkside released information that they will be closing as an organization after pressures from the United States. It is currently unknown if Darkside will be refunding the 5 million dollars back to colonial. 

    In my opinion, I believe that the Colonial pipeline shouldn't have paid the hackers the ransom. I believe this because you should never negotiate with terrorists because they will always want more. Also, I think that Darkside could and might have done this again if Biden didn't threaten the criminal organization. I think that the United States should capture and imprison these hackers for their crimes. 

Questions:

Do you think that Colonial should have paid the 5 million dollar ransom, why or why not?

In your opinion, should the United States locate and detain these hackers?

 

Sources:

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/colonial-pipeline-paid-ransomware-hackers-5-million-u-s-official-n1267286 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/business/darkside-pipeline-hack.html

 

[5matthew]

I dont know what I would have done by paying them the money and giving them what they want makes them look weak and could make it happen again. I think if they didnt pay it though it would have caused a lot more problems for not just there company but people who need the gas. 

[6Blake]

I agree that paying the ransom had minor benefits such as refueling the southeast coast of America. However, paying the ransom will only make the problem worse as the hackers won't stop until they are forcefully ended, which is why I believe the United States should track down and imprison these criminals.

[8William]

I do not think that they should have paid them th $5 million because they got what they wanted and they are probably going to want money.  I also think that the united states should do something about it because otherwise we look weak I think that we just need to somehow get the money back.  

[6Blake]

I agree that we shouldn't have paid the ransom and that this will only cause more problems in the future. I also agree that the United States should locate and lock these criminals up to set an example for other hackers thinking about making illegal moves. 

[7Keyton]

I think if they wouldn't have paid the ransom it would leave many people without gas, so it may have been the right thing to pay the ransom. I think the united states should locate these hackers so that the hackers cant do anything bad in the future.

[3ReganM]

I do think they did a good thing by paying that ransom, because it is a very important company like the colonial pipline most likely cannot afort to look at any profits. It would of caused more problems for the company if they didnt which im sure they didnt want to. They can not afford to lose there business. 

[6Blake]

I agree with your statement. I agree that paying the hackers could be beneficial since many states were in an emergency and very low on gas. I also believe that the pipeline could have easily paid a 5 million dollar ransom.

[7Ella]

I think that they did the right thing by paying the ransom because a very important company like the colonial pipeline probably cannot afford to look any business/profits and if they ddin't decide to pay the ransom then it probably would have just caused more problems for them. 

[2 Eric]

A company like Colonial Pipeline can't afford to lose business, especially because it deals with powering America. I think that what they did was right, to pay them the ransom and move on so America is better off now. I think that we should investigate it to a certain extent, however it will be tough and it might not be worth it in the end.

[2luke]

I completely agree with you. companies like this do power America and when they shut down so do parts of our economy. also as you said the longer they stayed down the more they lost. I also think they made the right decision by paying the ransom.